Engineering the Future
by The Shaved Wookie
Summary: The story of the intelligent John Shepard, with a slightly different backstory, along with a few character introductions planned earlier than in the canon trilogy. The future may be bright, but who will be around to experience it? Entire trilogy planned, but regular updates are a no go! Cover by aQuarianfetishist (Deviantart)
1. Chapter 1

The sunlight on the salarian homeworld was incredibly bright, and the very high humidity made it slightly uncomfortable for many species. However, that was not why John Shepard was sweating, as he was incredibly nervous. As if a normal commencement ceremony wasn't enough, being the first ever human graduate from the esteemed Mirat University in the capital of Sur'kesh definitely made it a nerve-racking experience. He glanced around the mostly salarian class, a blue asari body popping up here to watch their children graduate as well. _Well, at least I'm not the only one nervous. Maelon looks like his eyes are about to come out of his head.._ To most, the salarian would appear perfectly fine, but after spending three years surrounded by them, John could see right through the salarian's calm mask.

Before Shepard could start a quiet conversation, the esteemed speaker began reciting his speech to the crowd. Looking around the crowd, it wasn't difficult to find the only other humans at the ceremony; Hannah and William Shepard, along with his twelve year old sister Tara who met his gaze and waved a small hand; both apparently paying more attention to the speaker than himself, but still smiled and nodded at him when they realized who his sister was waving at. His sister's red hair quite frizzy, as the environment on the salarian homeworld was not too forgiving to those with longer hair. They were dressed in their formal Alliance wear, a beautiful hue of navy blue which represented the human military and space forces united as a whole. His mother's hair was wisely styled in a bun. Unfortunately, a large portion of their attention was needed on Dr. Solus, who was an extremely quick speaker; you really had to pay attention to pick up every word he said.

Shepard however, did not have the same problem, for as soon as he heard the salarian's words, they were forever ingrained in his memory. He had been diagnosed with hyperthymesia at a very young age, and when it was paired with an already exceptional IQ, he was considered a prodigy. Unlike many of the humans with this gift, which wasn't a large population to begin with, his condition had manifested at an early age. As a young child on Mindoir, he flew through the educational system provided, often requiring little to no intruction to fully grasp a topic far more advanced than any of his peers could even fathom. After graduating from the University of Southern Mindoir with honors in engineering at the ripe age of 12, he soon after became the first human accepted to the prestigious Mirat University on Sur'kesh. After nearly four years of extensive research, today he was one of the very few in his class being inducted directly as tier IV scientists. Only the top students received this honor, and the majority of the class fell in the level II or III range, while the future salarian lab assistants woefully received their tier I rank. Although humans had never encountered this qualification so far, he was absolutely certain it would be a definite positive.

Shepard brought his attention from the crowds back to the speaker._ Something seems wrong... there's not a sound..._ him and every graduating student on stage silently turned to stare at him...a uncomfortable emotionless stare, and he instinctively looked away, back to the crowd. The hairs on his neck stood up when he realized every person in the stage had the same stare, all directed at him. Even his family had the strange appearance on their countenances. He turned back to look to the people near him, but no words came out, no air moving around his throat. _What the hell is goi- _**BEEP!**

* * *

John Shepard bolted up from his bed, covered in sweat, before grumpily swatting at the holo terminal, signaling the alarm to cease and desist its annoying beeping. _Holy shit that was a weird dream. Speaking of Maelon, I haven't spoken to him in a few months. Salarians are pretty antisocial, but he really takes it to a whole new level. Probably why we got along so well._ He was wondering why his mind had tried to distort one of the proudest days of his life on the short trip to the shower, still coming blank as to any interpretations. It was right before sunrise on Mindoir, and by the time he'd showered, and had his mother's homemade breakfast, the memory was one of the last things on his mind.

Shepard drove his car to the Kassa Fabrication R&amp;D site, and as usual was already thinking about his latest project. Kassa Fabrication was a recent start-up human weapons manufacturer and research corporation, one of many companies that were attempting to put a stamp on human technological advancement on the galaxy. It wasn't the highest paying job he had been offered, but it was one of few where the director of the department had been alright with allowing him to work by himself. One of the unfortunate truths for a young man of his intelligence, especially one who had spent a great deal of his adolescence on the salarian homeworld, was a lacking affinity for social interaction. As such, he'd always preferred to work alone up to this point, which granted had only been a little over ten months. Shepard had made an rather risky gamble, taking a rather high paying contract one large condition; 45% of his pay was redirected towards company stock, allowing the company to use whatever assets he gained under their work to further expand. He had already dubbed his first creation the 'Arc Pistol', though its had very few analogues with normal pistols on the market. The new technology instead ionized the air along a pathway, allowing a high-ampere electric shock to disable shields and synthetic enemies alike. Although limited in range, he was confident it would be an invaluable weapon in the right hands. _It'll probably be more of a private sector weapon, though. Can't see this thing on the front lines._

The door to his lab opened without warning, a lab only he and a few of the higher ups of the corporation would have access to, stopping his train of thought as he quickly turned to see who the visitor may be; Shepard wasn't surprised by seeing his boss coming by to check over his work, but more so the female clad in an ornate suit arriving beside him. _A quarian? Why would she even be on a human colony?_

"Mr. Johnson?" Shepard inquired cautiously. _Where the hell did he find a quarian?_ Shepard had read that quarians were excellent engineers, and lived on a flotilla of over fifty thousand ships, and they had to live in those suits for most of their lives. However, beyond that, he wasn't too familiar with their species, and did not expect one to be on a remote human colony.

The older engineer made a motion towards the quarian. "This, John, is your new partner. She's been here on site for the past hour reviewing the new pistol schematics." _What the hell?! They didn't even ask me if someone else could look at it before they just let anybody look through months of my work? _Before Shepard could even get a word in, a scowl unwillingly appearing on his countenance, the director continued. "I wouldn't be assigning her to your project if I didn't think she would be of assistance. The heads of the company concluded although your research has been moving along at an acceptable rate, the faster this hits the market the better off the company will be."

Shepard's frown decreased slightly, though his face was not one of a very happy individual. "I thought I had specifically requested to work alone? You know th-

"John, this isn't up for debate. I'm sorry." The man said, his tone remaining neutral. "Besides, you need to learn how to work with at least one partner. You know as well as anyone that peer review is one of the most important parts of research."

_Dammit... well, those suits are probably better than anything the Alliance has. Maybe I can actually get some useful tech advice from her. _The clunky envirosuits currently utilized for extended human expenditures looked far less comfortable. Thankfully, he wasn't a part of the armor department, but it never hurt to have a little extra knowledge. "Alright, as long as you're sure she can keep up with me."

The quarian woman scoffed, but the director answered, ignoring his somewhat egocentric remark. "She scored highest on every single aptitude test on this batch of applicants, and even managed to beat two of your scores." He finished with a smirk.

Now _that_ impressed Shepard. The director finished and headed towards the exit. "I've got to head back to work, keep me posted." Shepard nodded, then looked at the alien woman in discussion. "John Shepard, but please just call me John." He introduced, and the quarian cordially shook his hand. _Their hands are_ p_retty small actually, no need for a larger palm without all the fingers. _

She looked him square in the eye, and he couldn't help but be intrigued by the bio-luminescence of her eyes shining through her partially opaque . "Daro'Xen nar Tonbay, but Daro is fine." The quarian glanced over at the terminal containing a floating schematic which he had been analyzing, then at Shepard. "I've had quite enough of listening to that imbecile who I was sent to. Your 'director' " Her interesting accent putting a negative emphasis on the man's position "could not answer a single one of my questions outside of the basic functionality of this design."

_Well then, that's an interesting way to refer to one's boss, but I can't say she isn't right. Seems illogical to have a business man as the head of a research department. _He kept his thought to himself, and raised an eyebrow at her remark, "I wouldn't say that to his face at least. But anyways, what do you want to know?"

Without any hesitation, she coolly responded. "Everything."

John Shepard learned quite a valuable lesson that day. If you ever have to give a technical rundown to a quarian, be prepared to answer questions pertaining to every single iota of engineering and technical specifications. Thankfully, Daro seemed to be as intelligent as proclaimed, and had grasped many of the unique concepts associated with the pistol's design. To his great satisfaction, she quickly began working on the power source, the one area he had been repetitively failing to improve, which gave him the excuse to focus on any other part of the design. _I guess the director was right on at least one thing, peer review never hurts._

On his lunch break, which as usual he took in the lab, his usual haunt due to his lack of desire to socialize, his mind wandered towards the quarian's unique technology. The suits were obviously more than just a regular envirosuit. _I wonder how much it'd cost to get one to the armor department... obviously one that's not in use. I'm sure there are many things specifically designed for quarian physiology, but it wouldn't be that difficult to reverse engineer more of the generic details. _However, like any man of his age, his eyes lowered towards her hips and rear as she stood at a workbench facing away from him. She was completely engrossed in her research, citing her suit's on board nutritional storage as not requiring a break to eat. He quickly averted his eyes when she turned to the side to view another projection of a different area of the schematic, but John couldn't help but be impressed. _Nothing on the extranet said their females had hips like that._


	2. Chapter 2

**With clear disdain and exasperation**: I am terribly sorry for all my readers who want faster updates, but I can't guarantee the speed of publication. I am committed to finishing this work, and hope you enjoy! R &amp;R if you feel so inclined :D

P.S. I triple checked for grammar errors, but every writer knows how they manage to pop up seemingly of their own accord!

EDIT (minor):I saw a few typinng/transitional mistakes I had to get rid of, and now time to start chapter 3!

**Seven months earlier**

"You know" Shepard began, breaking the usual morning silence plaguing the lab. "I read that quarians were one of the most social species, but you've barely spoken a word since you got here. Are you uncomfortable being the only one of your species on the colony?" She had only been a part of the project for two weeks, and already had been improving the power source. However, she seemed even less socially adept than him, which was quite a statement.

Although the extranet was limited with current social interactions, articles written before the exile specifically stated how emotional the species was. Much like the asari, volus, and elcor, the quarian people had removed the institute of full-scale war among their species prior to spaceflight. The hanar were surprisingly aggressive, but after contacting other species, their Church of the Enkindlers finally managed to establish peace; a similar case was with the salarians. No race was perfect, but krogans, vorcha, batarians, drell, and turians were seen as more aggressive species, and he had no doubt humans would have been included in the list if they were known nearly five hundred years ago. Three thousand six hundred and twenty seven pages of social and biological information on all those species. And he remembered every single damn page.

Daro glanced over at him immediately, her head tilted in the slightest amount. _It'd be foolish to assume that means confusion._ "No, this planet has been better to me than the Citadel ever was." Something about her posture seemed off, though her voice was unchanged.

"Was the Citadel really that bad towards your kind?" Shepard asked cautiously. "I've never been out of Alliance space, myself."

The woman scoffed lightly, responding. "They treat us like thieves and beggars." With a slightly angrier tone, she continued. "Few individuals hire quarians outside of ship maintenance, and even then we get paid less for our labor."

"How is that legal?" He inquired, genuinely surprised at her change in inflection.

Daro answered, her voice back to normal. "Most pilgrims won't have another chance to find a job, so they don't report the discrepancy."

John quickly turned his head to her, a tinge of anger presenting itself in his voice. "Is Kassa paying you under-the-table? I can go talk to the director if you want." She again tilted her head slightly, which allowed him to conclude its meaning. "Sorry, under-the-table means working in a non-official matter, so they can pay you whatever you want."

"No, I'm being paid fairly by this company." Daro replied. The lab remained silent after that for a moment, John nodding at her words and went back to working. Quietly though, he heard the slightly metallic voice add. "But, thank you for your concern."

Shepard picked up the firing chamber of a prototype pistol, walking over and taking a seat next to the woman's workbench. After placing it on the bench, he inquired. "I've read a lot about quarians, how your vision is sharper than many species and the best engineers in the galaxy likely inhabit the fleet. Why don't you take a break and tell me a little about your people?

Although unseen by Shepard, a small smile formed on the woman's countenance and she put down her work. "Very well, what do you wish to know?"

Chucking, Shepard replied. "Anything, really. The quarian people have been pretty insulated since the formation of the fleet. Uh, no pun intended."

The seeds of a new friendship were sowed as they worked together, Shepard learning more from the conversation itself than the words themselves.

* * *

**A couple weeks later**

The sound of the slap resounded throughout the small laboratory. Loud enough that anyone inside would not have been able to ignore it; thankfully, their team hadn't increased in size. Furthermore, as they were the last two out of the building, it was entirely devoid of onlookers. John Shepard was quite nonplussed, and managed to retain his temperament. Daro'Xen's eyes were narrowed into slits, a pissed off quarian if one were to hazard a guess. Her voice accentuated the point, coming out in nearly a growl. "I cannot believe you would even suggest such a thing!"

Shepard could already consider Daro a friend, likely due to the fact they spoke nearly all day while working. It was refreshing to work on the pistol without the overbearing silence as it used to be. Already he had learned a lot about her culture, the fleet, and even a few conversations about geth technology. Today, however, a simple question could not have been taken in a worse way.

Although he felt the strong urge to verbally lash out at the irate quarian, he was more flustered at her reaction. He raised his voice, but it gradually decreased as he spoke. "You just said over half your damn salary goes into living expenses, and taking your rent out of the equation would minimize that."

Daro seemed unfazed at his rebuttal, and returned. "And? You think I'm going to sleep with you just to save some money?"

At this, Shepard raised his hands defensively, allowing his confusion to snake itself into his voice. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping at her words, which seemed to anger her even more. "Who said anything about sleeping with me? I said there's a guest bedroom, and it really hasn't been used in a long time. It's just wasting space right now."

She stared at him, the glowing slits of her eyes slowly returning to their original size, and she softly replied. "Keelah John, I'm...I'm sorry for hitting you." He hadn't known the woman for long, and alien body language was still a difficult thing for him to recognize, but even he could tell she was unaccustomed to making mistakes. Just like himself.

"Keelah?" He questioned, never having heard a quarian word without translation.

Daro answered still with the unusually reserved voice, concerning him. "It directly translates to 'by the homeworld', but is used as more of an exclamation of surprise." Shepard nodded, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he thought best how to phrase his next question.

"You learn something new every day." He responded with a smile, then took a step closer to her, somewhat startling the female. "Listen Daro, when I offered you a place to live, I meant just that. I wasn't trying to insinuate any sexual relations between us. I guess there's a difference in cultures, because humans share living quarters on certain occasions in a completely platonic fashion." She shifted her feet nervously, seemingly unsure how to respond, and he continued. "Don't worry about it, though. My parents were fine with it when I pitched the idea, but if you wouldn't be comfortable with it then there's no reason to relocate."

Xen sighed, finally breaking eye contact for a moment. "Shepard, I truly appreciate your offer, and I wish I could accept, but I have little to give in return. It would be a waste of resources towards your clan's living space."

_Yeah, definitely thieves and beggars. Sometimes I wonder how people could say things about an entire race without even getting to know one._ He closed the short distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. Quarian women were generally taller than their male counterparts, and the study he had read described it as the likely catalyst for a matriarchal society. However, even though Daro was nearly six feet tall, Shepard's tall frame still stood a head taller than her.

Still gently grasping her left shoulder, he gently countered. "On the fleet, you'd be right. To live with us you'd have to make yourself useful, or everyone would suffer. The difference is here we have more than we need to survive, and it would be more wasteful to have an unused resource when a friend could greatly benefit from it."

Daro silently stared at his eyes for an inordinately long moment, causing the human's mind to race. _Maybe she's never had a friend from another race? Actually, I bet that's exactly it. _He was surprised that he could note the changing expressions just by her silver eyes and an outline of her extremely humanoid nose. Realizing himself, he hastily removed his arm from her shoulder with a muffled 'sorry'.

"Okay..." She said quietly, though he wasn't sure if it was more for herself than for him. In a more normal voice, still tinted with gratitude, she continued. "If you're sure... I would greatly appreciate it." Daro looked up at him, and he was sure there was a smile hidden under the smokey visor. After a moment she continued. "I will go get my things and message you when I arrive."

As the quarian walked away, Shepard couldn't help but feel inextricably strange at his behavior. On Sur'Kesh, he ostracized himself from social contact simply because that's how he preferred it. Yet here after a couple of weeks, he was inviting a friend to live with them. Not only did he believe it was truly the right thing, but he was looking forward to the company. Daro had been an excellent conversational partner at work. As she neared the exit, his eyes moved on their own accord, tracing her hourglass figure, the small of her back, and down her waist. He admired her shapely legs, ending at a very alien pair of feet, before his retinas ended on her posterior. The same shapely rear he had caught himself staring at during her brief tenure at Kassa. He chucked to himself as she left, and finished putting away his materials. _Who knew an alien woman's... assets could be so distracting._

* * *

**Current Time**

_I don't think they'd ever let a quarian into a chess tournament. The unbeatable poker face would be a clear advantage. _Shepard inwardly sighed as he finally decided to sacrifice a pawn for the sake of stalling her offensive. More often than not, he would defeat her at the game. Today, however, his mind was elsewhere, and his poor strategy was brought to light quickly. With little hesitation, a bishop came and swept away his pawn, leaving Shepard's queen in an exposed position. Daro had only been playing chess for a few short months, and she already seemed to have a tactical grasp reserved for veterans of the game; it was usually not enough to defeat John's bright mind. Her quick and effective grasp of a the game was no surprise, though, considering he had seen first-hand how intelligent she was. He tried another move which would likely end in the death of another pawn, and hoped she didn't see the counter. The quarian quickly took the sacrificial lamb, and continued her offensive on the chessboard.

When Daro had joined in Shepard's development of the Arc pistol, (although privy to admitting it in conversation) he had been at a plateau. Unable to increase the power level, he had been stalling for time by increasing the efficiency of its unique thermal clip. The addition of an individual of his caliber of intelligence with a completely different technological background had been the reason for their success. He had estimated that it would take at least another year for the invention to hit the shelves, but with her addition it had barely taken seven months to complete. Obviously, their director was enthused, but the two had another reason to celebrate. Shepard and her were substantially wealthier now due to the success of the Arc Pistol on the market. One of their final breakthroughs was a system to alter the large ampere burst with minimal effect and weight increase. The original optimal power level which would tear through shields and could be fatal at close enough ranges was now complimented by a weaker setting which could take down an individual non-lethally even through light armor. Released to the public only a few weeks ago, it had been well-received by corporate security firms, likely a few shell companies intermediating for mercenary groups, and even the human Alliance had made a small official purchase. Shepard tried his luck, and sent his queen out to take her bishop.

The general usefulness of the weapon soon caused it to gravitate out of solely Alliance space, expedited greatly by the population of the colony. Apparently, Mindoir had more metallurgic resources than the humans would be able to process in a reasonable time, and the Alliance had contracted a few non-human corporations to assist. This had created an interesting environment on the 'human colony', of which humans only were two thirds of the population. It had mostly been an influx of turians, but eventually, a sizable number of asari, salarian, and even a single elcor company had started mining the uninhabitable wastes of Mindoir. Although a win-win situation financially for both, it still created a slightly inflated housing and food market due to the influx of workers, while opposing chirality prevented large scale dextro local food production. Unfortunately, Daro's mind was not preoccupied, and she easily saw through his ruse. His queen was quickly removed from the battlefield. He tried to hide his king behind the paltry sum of units he had left, but it was to no avail. In a few more moves, Shepard's king was trapped.

The both of them currently had the living room to themselves, and Daro could see something was wrong. Leaning back on her favorite recliner, she crossed her legs and questioned. "That was not even a challenge, John. That move was available to set up for the past two rotations." Shepard scratched the back of his neck, eyes still focused on the chessboard. The quarian continued in a more serious, but not cold tone, finally getting his visual attention. "Tell me John, what has you distracted?" Shepard sighed as he stood, walking over to the large window. Her curious glowing eyes followed the human as he relocated.

In the past six months, Daro had become the closest friend he had ever had. Although salarians were a social species, their emotional differences had kept him from having a true best friend throughout most of his education on Sur'Kesh. Earlier while in the human educational system, Shepard was much younger than everyone else; he would more often than not keep to himself, absorbed in his studies. Inside though, he had been lonely, though he hadn't realized it until she came into his life. Now John had come to rely on her, a crutch against the mentally demanding job they both had; even if he tried, he had never been able to hide his emotions from the inquisitive female. Conversing with a quarian was only slightly different than with humans, with very similar mannerisms. The only big difference he had noticed, and it had definitely brought them closer as friends, as the lack of trepidation her species had about discussing their emotions. Humans would likely be embarrassed to clearly put out their feelings, especially to the opposite gender. With her though, the words flowed like water, and he often felt better simply by chatting with her. John was sure, though, she valued their friendship as much as he. Daro had made that abundantly clear on his birthday just a couple of months ago.

_John was sitting on the couch while his sister sat in the kitchen, both on their omnitools. She was enjoying a ridiculous new movie about a hanar spectre, while Shepard was merely surfing tech blogs for an interesting conversation. His dad was outside working on the farm equipment, while his mom was likely at her Alliance office. Although his father still limped slightly from his injuries during his service, he had never allowed it to stop him from doing the job he loved. He had already received a few gifts from his parents, the main one being a brand new Katana shotgun. Although a basic model, it still was a military grade weapon, and he wasn't sure what strings his parents had pulled to get one in his possession. John was disappointed, though, since their alien guest hadn't arrived from work yet. Usually Daro just rode back with him, but today she had said she needed to finish something, giving no hints to the mystery._

_As if the suited woman had read his thoughts, the door opened revealing the quarian in question. He smiled as she hadn't knocked, a habit she ended quickly after her beginning trepidation at 'intruding' on a human living space._

"_Hey Daro!" Squeaked Tara from the kitchen, though her mind was more focused on the amusing elcor arguing with the hanar. Miss Xen responded in kind, and instead of taking her usual spot on one of the recliners, she sat on the seat right beside him on the sofa._

_Shepard couldn't stop the smile from his face at her arrival, but it quickly was replaced with a concerned look as he noticed her nervousness. It wasn't really with her facial expressions, but the inconspicuous movements of her fingers and the slight foot tapping revealed her anxiety. "What's up Daro?" He questioned as casually as possible._

"_I know that today is your 'birth day', and I wish to offer my congratulations on your blessed day of creation." Her diction always was more advanced than most casual conversations, but even then he could hear the honest happiness behind her words. There was a tinge of apprehension, and he quickly noticed she seemed to only get nervous when she was being entirely honest. It was vulnerability. Before he could thank her, she continued. "I read that humans give gifts to commemorate this day, especially the year you become an adult." Daro's eyes expanded slightly, an expression he had finally mastered, a smile. She reached into one of her waist's suit pockets and pulled out a small, what appeared to be polished steel band and handed it to him. _

_The band had the same pattern as Daro's realk, her veil, though without the coloring. Shepard took the proffered band, surprised by its light weight. He saw a strange set of symbols, but Daro's accented voice broke his thoughts and refocused his vision towards her. "It is what quarians call a hij'zan, the band of clan harmony. It signifies the bond between two different clans, showing the only thing that separates them are name and blood."_

"_It's beautiful." He said sincerely, then turned his attention to the inside of the band. Unknowingly, his countenance turned into a slight frown as he attempted to read the symbols."I'm assuming this is Khelish, but I don't have a clue what it says."_

_Her timorous demeanor appeared to increase due to what looked like a displeased reaction, and she crossed her legs nervously as she replied. "It says 'may peace and joy always find those who freely give to another." She looked as if she was going to say more, but was silenced when he stood up and offered his hand. Daro took his hand, and was subsequently gently pulled from the couch. Before she could even exclaim her surprise, she found herself in a warm embrace._

"_Thank you, Daro. This is wonderful, and I know I'll always treasure it." Although he had embraced the quarian on a few rare occasions to celebrate an innovation or traversed past a technological plateau, neither side let go as they normally did after a short moment. "He leaned by where her auditory sensors where located, and whispered. "For what it's worth, you've been a part of our 'clan' since the day you walked in that door." He leaned back, and her smile was obvious as he gazed at her visor. She looked as though she would retort, but an entirely too inquisitive voice called from the back door._

"_Oh ho ho, what have we here?" His father's voice accompanied a shit-eating grin as he walked towards the two. They quickly separated from their embrace. His dad's limp was more pronounced after working out on the fields, but his mind was as sharp as ever. His eyes widened as he saw the band in his son's hand, and likely could make out the pattern on it. Shepard's father continued as he saw a red tint appearing on John's cheeks. His words came out with the same jocularity as his preliminary statement, but this time it was focused on his alien acquaintance. "So, what's this, did ya propose to my boy or something?" He ended with a chuckle; the elder Shepard had the satisfaction of seeing his son's face redden immensely, but the quarian answered._

"_What!? No, it's not about a mating contract, but sometimes that's how they.. what I meant to say is it isn't about...it's to show companionship... Keelah not like that!" She stopped herself as her words belittled what she was trying to say, Shepard's father's grin making her defense increasingly difficult. Thankfully, the younger Shepard came to her aid._

"_Oh don't mind him, he's just being an ass." His dad scoffed at the indignation, but listened attentively as Shepard explained. "It's like a family heirloom, dad. You give one to a friend that may as well be family." He managed to get it onto his wrist, its resting place every morning for a long while to come; it opened at the bottom to allow a snug fit on his wrist _

"_Yeah, I bet that's exactly what you were thinking when I walked in." He deadpanned. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack pretty soon, that damn tractor's guidance system still can't keep the thing in a straight line."_

"_Alright, well goodnight dad." John said, then turned back to the quarian. "Want to see how much juice I can get out of my new shotgun?"_

_As he expected, her eyes brightened at the thought of tinkering with a weapon. "Sure! But if you try to put exploding rounds again..." She poked a finger at his chest in mock indignation._

_He sighed, gesturing her to follow him. "Seriously? That was like two months ago, and you have to admit, a shotgun with that kind of raw power..." Their voices trailed off as they walked to the basement where all of his personal tools were located. The forgotten elder Shepard chuckled, wondering if his son truly was that oblivious to the writing on the wall._

* * *

John's thoughts were interrupted as he remembered Daro was still waiting on a response. He looked back at her, those glowing orbs waiting patiently for his answer, though she was now standing. "I think when all this is over, when we're done with the second version of the pistol and..." He paused, and his voice became noticeably quieter." when... you go home... I think I'm going to join the Alliance."


	3. Chapter 3

**When I wrote the outline on this chapter, it sounded as exciting as a two hour physics lecture by Ben Stein. I think it flows smoothly now, though I still felt iffy. Regardless, please R&amp;R! I'd like to know your opinions, and I hope this chapter is to your liking :D**

**P.S. The story gets better, so if you don't like this chapter don't be too dismissive, yet!**

**P.S.S. I know how long this took, and I'm sorry. I can't promise speedy chapters, but I'll try to do better. This once a month thing is no bueno!**

They currently were in a modified turian freighter which had been in storage at one of the colony's many smaller spaceports. Much like the quarian ships on the flotilla, this ship was outdated, being over a hundred years old. However, turian engineers made surprisingly robust space craft. When Daro had purchased the shuttle under the company's name, with their consent, of course, the two had spent over a month upgrading it in their spare time. The cargo bay was largely unmodified, but the thrusters were relatively new and very efficient, and very expensive. By far the most challenging aspect of renovating the freighter had been upgrading the armor, though with two brilliant minds, it was more of time constraints than actual difficulties. Unlike Shepard, who had been accumulating stock along with his salary, Daro had sold back all of her investments. It was unlikely she would be able to return to the colony after her pilgrimage, and she had far better uses for the money now. In the freighter were two thousand five hundred of the Arc Pistols, and along with the freighter itself and nearly a hundred thousand credits, would make a truly outstanding pilgrimage gift. Currently, it was on autopilot back towards the Shepard residence to drop him off. He didn't have to come with her for the long process of having the spacecraft inspected for integrity and any illegal modifications, the cargo loaded and inspected, and then the waiting period for cleared airspace; the fact he volunteered just so she would be more comfortable made Daro yet again truly grateful she had met him.

The ride from the spaceport had been an unusually silent one. The trip would last little over an hour, but so far had felt much longer. Most of the time, as the autopilot on their Shepard's personal shuttle would take them to work or from, the two would have been conversing about their project, their experiences as youths, or even Shepard's random comparisons between quarian anatomy and Earth's reptiles. Even though more often than not their discussions would gravitate towards less serious topics, Daro still treasured them as much as she would any scientific knowledge. She had always been antisocial, which was frowned upon in quarian culture, and had maintained this demeanor throughout her pilgrimage. Until recently, well, among certain individuals.

"It's not like I'm dying John." Daro broke the silence in a slightly humorous tone. The silence had been making uncomfortable, especially if this was to be their last conversations for a long while.

Shepard, who had been engrossed in his omnitool up to this point, met her gaze as a small smile creased upon his face. "Yeah, I know." His response was not what she was expecting, and she made her opinion known as her arms crossed across her chest, eyes slightly narrowing. "Okay okay, fine." John had quickly learned that it was nearly impossible to hide emotions from the woman across from him, but he had been getting better at it. The last 'I'm a quarian' speech was long ago, and he had no desire to provoke her ire. "You're leaving, my sister's going to a boarding school on Elysium pretty soon, and I'll be in basic training in a month. It just seems like everything has passed by so fast. I guess that's just part of me wishing time would slow down for a bit."

Daro couldn't help but return his smile. A large part of her wished the same thing, wished she could delay her pilgrimage for a while longer... However, her duty to the fleet was overriding, such as most quarians. It simply wasn't an option. "Still, once you are completed with your training, you could be the first human to step foot aboard the fleet." _Admiral Zorah would have a fit, perhaps Admiral Gerrel as well, but at least the others care more about progress than technical racial supremacy._

The human in reference chuckled, and Daro was glad she could at least brighten his spirits. After a moment's paused he nervously inquired. "Do you really think they'd let me on board? Especially if you're going to be doing research on the geth?"

Xen crossed her legs, allowing herself to ponder the situation for a second before retorting. "I fully expect them to be apprehensive, but you must understand. In the years after the Morning war, few outsiders have offered us any assistance. We have had to grow to not easily trust outsiders, unfortunately." She again briefly paused, as if to carefully consider her next words. "But humans have not been around long enough for the fleet to gain an opinion either way, so perhaps it would be a good opportunity to present a good image for your race."

Shepard heard her slightly metallic words clear as day, but her tone of inflection and body language spoke volumes of her true opinion. "Daro, you don't have to convince me to go. I already told you I'd come visit." He watched as she shuffled her legs, switching the crossed leg, and confirming his suspicion. He briefly chuckled as he yet again thought how he could read an alien female clad entirely in a suit easier than any human woman he'd met. "Besides, a whole ship of exotic women in skintight suits? That's really not a tough sell." John added with jocularity, attempting to lighten the mood.

_Of course he would be focused on that. I don't think I'll ever meet a quarian male as outspoken as John. _She thought with a surprising twinge of depression. A barely audible 'hmph' was her emotionally hidden answer, accompanied by the crossing of her arms and a glance away. He was surprised a swat or kick didn't accompany it, the usual reaction to his more aberrant retorts. "I think you'll find the other females will be less forgiving than I if they catch you staring at their posterior, regardless of your argument." It was a rather drawn out discussion so many months ago, but she still didn't believe it was an instinctual dilemma that caused human males to have difficulties keeping their eyes off... sensitive areas, regardless of sexual preferences. "And if you even think about touching anything your corrupted mind focuses on... " She spoke in an admonishing tone. "You may find yourself missing a few vital... appendages, especially if it's a bonded female near her mate." Although she knew he likely knew better, she had read that human males were one of the more assertive and aggressive male species, only surpassed by krogan and batarians.

Shepard seemed less than amused. "Hey, I'm not that stupid, it's not like there's anywhere to hide or escape in a ship, a ship right in the middle of a fifty thousand strong flotilla, might I add!" He chuckled, recalling a somewhat relevant memory. " Trust me, I can imagine how that would play out." _Apparently quarians are much stronger than people give them credit for. The same goes for turians... though. Dextro proteins must be pretty efficient._

Daro chuckled again, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she replied. "Yes, perhaps even you are capable of learning."

John quietly harrumphed. "Damn abusive quarians." A light kick to his knee was her retort, and even though it was not a powerful swing, feigned grievous injury.

Xen smirked at his pathetic but humorous display, and with absolutely no sympathy, smugly retorted. "You fully deserved your punishment, bosh'tet."

* * *

_The project was nearly nearing completion, though he was sure there would be a second model released. He was casually working on the power source with Daro. More often than not they would work separately, but the other sections of the pistol design would need major overhauls to improve their efficiency. So, instead of said overhauls, they were prepping the first model for release, and what it desperately needed was as much power, without sacrificing the 'clip' size, as possible._

_Shepard was sitting on the floor, Indian style, as he often did when he was thinking more than working. Chairs hurt his back if he sat too long, and unlike his quarian friend, he found it more beneficial to sit while thinking instead of standing. He glanced over at the alien in question, chuckling lightly at the memory of her confusion at his strange sitting style. Today she had actually attempted to recreate his favorite sitting position, with little success. Apparently, quarian legs were unable to comfortably recreate the sitting style, and he had spent the next few minutes making fun of how her bent legs looked. A swift kick in the shin by her said legs had quieted him, and she had proceeded to gloat at how 'poorly designed' his straighter and thinner legs were. Arguments like this were common between the two, though Daro only resorted to whacking him only after a particularly lecherous or insensitive comment._

_After a while, a sufficient allotment to quell the pain in his legs, he returned to his chair by the bench as she stood beside him. Shepard normally faced slightly away from her, allowing them both a little privacy as they used the tools. Shepard began the meticulous process of disassembling said power supply, which required a surprisingly varied amount of customized tools . He placed the rest of pistol on the table, but as he reached over to grab a tool, his elbow inadvertently knocked over the power source; as a testament to the pistol's weight saving design, the small thumb-sized cube with prongs hardly made a sound as it connected with the floor, bouncing to a halt near a three toed foot._

_Shepard turned towards the pistol, and was met with an unexpected sight. For whatever reason, Daro was nearer to him than before - slightly bent over, and facing away from him - attempting to recalibrate a specific unit for testing. Although her figure was somewhat distracting, the monotonous and personally boring work on the power source was making it a welcome visual diversion. His pistol forgotten, he stared for a moment, wondering how much her species actually resembled his own. Her hips were wider than a humans, leaving a noticeable gap between her legs. Much like her legs, her butt was also larger, and undoubtedly more powerful than a human womans. This information meant little to him at the moment, though he realized he'd been staring at her rear for quite a long moment longer than intended; she still seemed oblivious as she worked, and his childish mind decided on the perfect revenge._

_Shepard reached out and carefully retrieved the small power source, knowing any accidental contact would ruin his ploy. Raising the omnitool over the device, he reduced the power setting to a level that wouldn't cause any real damage, just a painful jolt. Daro had unknowingly hatched the plan into his mind, as one of her previous discussions with him revealed her suit's ability to redirect large doses of electrical energy to protect from a major suit shutdown. However, there were simple ways to bypass said defenses, such as lowering the voltage below a certain threshold. John activated the small device, and carefully poked her left thigh with the prongs, knowing the suit was also not in danger of being punctured. He heard a loud cross between a gasp and a scream, and had an infinitesimally small moment to think about the oddity of the sound before a 'funny looking' knee hit him in the side of the face. Then, everything was black._

_He blinked open his eyes, and was able to see a black tinted visor staring down at him, her luminous eyes clearly worried. "Are you okay?" Daro spoke quickly and with a tinge of fear. "Keelah you're bleeding, what happened? Let me call a medic." She only made it a few steps before he burst out laughing. The quarian spun on her toes, tilting her head slightly in confusion. The gesture only served to increase his laughter, and he found himself unable to respond as her hands rested on her hips, eyes narrowing. "What in the hell is so funny?" Her version of the human curse word had an extra syllable, and he found himself tearing up as his chest continued to heave with laughter._

_When Shepard's vision cleared, and his ability to enunciate words clearly returned, he was still met with the same two glowing eyes. She seemed far less amused than he. With a mischievous grin, he sat up and simply held up one hand, the hand containing the still active power supply. He had the satisfaction of watching her eyes slowly narrow, realizing what had just occurred._

"_You!" She snarled angrily, lifting her arm containing her omnitool. Before he had time to react, a large electrical surge pulsed out of her tool, striking him. He yelled out in pain, and the quarian ended the program within moments of activation, but the pain lingered. "It's not as funny now, is it bosh'tet." She mocked at the human, who was temporarily unable to lift himself._

_The quarian insult was closely translated to the English 'degenerate', though slightly more rude in nature. John heard the term often, as he found it incredibly amusing to prank her, therefore became the recipient of said insult frequently. Unfortunately, the quarian had quickly learned how to counter his pranks, and had gotten him back on more than one occasion. He shuddered remembering the twenty millipedes under his cover, though where or how she acquired them was still a mystery. One evening, after staying up late working on the project, he returned casually to his room, too tired to even turn on the light as he plopped unto the bed. This startled all of the said millipedes, and although he had crushed a few of them, both dead and living millipedes began or had already released a foul and irritating liquid. Sprinting away from his bed and towards the bathroom, he was met with a certain suited woman standing near the sink, eyes closed and loudly laughing as she clutched her side. Her omnitool had a clear video feed of his room with a light sensitive camera allowing clear vision even in the relative darkness._

_When Shepard got to his feet finally, and was met with an all-too-smug looking Daro, arms crossed, though she looked more amused than angry at this point. He felt as if he was approaching another laughing fit just because of that, but managed to simply sport a grin._

"_That hurt like hell Daro." He said, chucking to hide away the slight pain. His whole body still felt strange, but whatever shock she had administered at least seemed far from causing permanent damage. It was definitely more potent than the one he had administered. Thankfully, whatever bleeding had occurred seemed to have stopped on its own._

"_I can make it far worse, trust me." She replied with no sympathy, her eyes hinting at a smirk underneath her mask. As Shepard finally lifted himself, she continued. "Perhaps next time you will think before allowing your degenerate mind to wander."_

_He laughed again, and crossed his arms as well. "Naw... but do you want to know something?" The quarian did not verbally retort, but merely leaned back on her leg, waiting for his response. His legs were still wobbly from the electroshock treatment, but he did his best to appear unaffected._

"_It was totally worth it." He quipped with a cocky grin._

_The second shock treatment questioned his judgment on the matter. A slightly metallic laugh resonated in the background._

* * *

"I never knew quarians could move so fast." Shepard retorted, shacking himself slightly from the recollection of the event. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you were the one cackling like a mad woman afterwards."

The alien female huffed her disapproval. "You should have known to never frighten a quarian about their suit integrity." She allowed a grin to grace her lavender lips. "You know I still have that program." Daro slyly motioned to her left arm containing the omnitool.

Shepard waved his hand dismissively. "Threats Daro? Why must you stoop so low?" He mocked.

She 'hmph-ed' her disapproval and, jokingly, condescendingly remarked. "You're quite lucky I already knew you were a lewd ape, John. Regardless of your intentions, you should have known better, but apparently not." Her terminology brought another memory to the forefront of his mind. Although it had been many months, it still was one of the few subjects that seemed to fluster her.

"Speaking of us 'lewd apes' " Shepard stated in a conspiratorial tone. Daro had an all to content smile shown by her eyes, but it Shepard was an expert at turning the tables around in their conversations. "At least I wasn't caught on the Fornax website, on our family's extranet connection of all places. And right next to my room!" He chuckled loudly as she fumed. "Imagine if my parents would have seen you." It was difficult to look at a person the same way once you've caught them … masturbating. Plus, it had proven to him that his first confrontation with her was no hoax. Quarians were extremely fast runners.

She angrily refuted his interjection. "I've told you multiple times, you bosh'tet, it was strictly for educational purposes! Unlike you, I have control over those aspects of my life. As all species, quarians feel the need to find a release from stress after a sufficient time. It had nothing to do with sexual orientation." Daro was clearly displeased, and glared at him. "Besides, that isn't just your room, all of the research equipment is down stairs as well." It had little effect on his smirk. _I should have bugged that bosh'tets room and linked it directly to an extranet stream._

"Sure it was Daro. Sure it was." Shepard's grin never left his face, further angering the quarian passenger. "It really doesn't matter, it was obvious you weren't using the work bench for... research."

"Stop talking about this." Xen's voice sounded quite angry. Though this would have discouraged the young Shepard when they first met, he was used to it by now.

He chuckled, but was keenly aware of her right hand moving closer to her omnitool. He decided to be more tactful with his approach, though he decided he'd never get another chance at this interesting topic."Don't get so fussy, all of like to look at porn sometimes, regardless of species. Most of us aren't fortunate enough to have an entire suit for artificial stimulation in that situation, however." Before she had time to respond, he continued in a sly tone. "I never knew you had such a fetish for 'hairy microbial-infested primates', though." He finger quoted one of her previous retorts. "Is that the real reason why you came to the colony?" He was really enjoying getting a rile out of the woman, possibly for the last time in a long while.

_That insufferable fool! _"Why do you keep bringing this up? This is not a topic quarians discuss openly." Daro growled disapprovingly.

Shepard leaned back in an over exaggerated manner, still smiling like a buffoon. "It's not everyday you catch a woman watching that kind of material. At least among humans, it's definitely a male dominated market."

"Fine. Whatever." She responded forcefully. To her great satisfaction, silence once again descended upon the small shuttle.

Although John liked to tease the woman excessively, even he could tell she was starting to get genuinely upset. "It's not like I haven't tried finding real quarian porn." John chuckled at how quickly her head turned back to him; her expression – what little he could determine at least- quickly transitioned from disinterested to outright shock. "Unsuccessfully, might I add."

"You looked for quarian... but why?" Xen exclaimed with bewilderment. Whether at the actual revelation, or his seemingly nonchalant way of exclaiming so she was unsure.

Shepard shrugged his shoulders, unabashed at revealing such personal information, and stared out the shuttle view port as he replied. "It's only instinct for certain species to find certain body types attractive, which makes a small amount of xenophily actually natural. From what I can tell, I'm pretty sure both of our races would be compatible, both emotionally and physically. I'm no xenobiologist, though."

"So..." Daro said in a cautious but inquiring tone of voice, still surprised at what he was saying. Few races found quarians attractive due to their immunodeficiency, though before the suits many asari had taken quarian lovers, usually of the male gender. "Are you admitting you have a quarian fetish?" _Perhaps that would explain his fascination with the tightness of our suits._

Shepard chuckled, realizing how he had set himself up. A smile appeared shortly after, though it hid no humor as his previous ones had. "You're a beautiful woman, Daro, and the closest friend I've ever had. You have a body that a human woman would kill for. You've got an hourglass figure, toned legs and a great posterior, all of which are a real turn on for most human males. Plus, your translator gives your voice in the English language a very soothing accent, unlike some of the grating voices we have down at the lab." His false smile dropped suddenly, and he stared at the area next to her. _What the hell am I telling her... she didn't even bring herself up._

_Keelah..._ Her suit felt as though it had tightened around her, and she confirmed with her visor's interface that her body temperature had risen slightly. A few images from the... educational video she had been caught viewing came to mind, but she quickly forced them out. _Did he just say what I think he said? _Rarely was the astute quarian at a loss for words, but what he just said surely would have given any woman a pause. After what seemed like a small eternity, she softly – almost cautiously- questioned. "John, just what are you trying to say?"

The conversation was cut short as a loud boom caused the duo to jump from their seats. Both frantically rushed to the cockpit. The shuttle shook violently, slamming them both into a wall. Then a sound came through, a sound all human colonists had been trained to fear since they were toddlers, the sound of klaxon blaring loudly. Installed every few miles, and hardwired to prevent hacking, the incredibly loud speakers were an abhorrent creation during testing runs, but now it was clear why so many tests were required. Being an Alliance colony meant nothing to pirates, slavers, and mercenaries. They were being attacked.

"What the hell was that?" Daro yelled over the klaxon as they both rushed to the freighter's cockpit.

In a calm voice that surprised himself, he gently answered. "It means the outer defenses have been breached. Something is invading the planet." The quarian nodded her understanding. However, as soon as they activated the sensors, both of their heartbeats increased rapidly, and a few small beads of sweat formed on Shepard's forehead. There, on the ship's sensors, were over five hundred unique ship signatures were entering the planets atmosphere, and a few obscure, but larger signatures, were staying in orbit.

"Keelah." Daro said breathlessly as the shuttle shook once again from a shock wave. "I thought this colony was under Alliance protection?" A few resonating booms followed her question. She opened her omnitool, accessing the shuttle's front camera to view what was occuring. They were over a two miles away from the Shepard residence. Still, even from this distance, the sky was visibly crowded with cruisers and drop ships. To both of their horror, what they assumed were battleships were firing their bombardment cannons into various spaceports, undoubtedly killing anyone unfortunate enough to be nearby. Interestingly, none of the boarding craft were landing directly in the residential center, but instead headed directly towards the Alliance base on planet, a long ways from the main population center.

"Holy shit." Shepard whispered. Immediately, his shock was replaced with a terrible pang of anxiety. His parents and sister were currently at home, having already said their goodbyes to what amounted to their quarian family member. He still remembered his father's face, her military training barely able to hide her disdain. His sister and mother were far less stoic, and it had broken his heart to hear her Tara crying as the duo left the household. Quickly, he attempted to formulate a plan, removing the sad thought from his mind. "We're only about an hour away from town. This freighter's new armor is sturdy enough to take a few rounds, so we should be fine if we get out ASAP. It looks like they're taking out the armed resistance first, so we should have enough time to get out before they notice." His voice was laden with desperation, and his heart kept sinking as the ships showed no signs of relenting their assault.

Daro nodded in response, her widened eyes refusing to leave the view port. She needed no explanation to whom or where they were headed, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared. Xen stared at the screen for over a minute before she realized Shepard wasn't in the cockpit anymore. She exited, and was surprised to see her human friend tapping his foot frantically with hands on his head, facing the back wall, staring at nothing. She understood clearly why he was in this state, anyone would be in fear if their family was at risk. However, she had realized long ago why he would joke so much, or why he made so much of an effort to keep their conversations full of jest. Xen had not been joking when she had elaborated on the biological affinity quarians had for reading body and facial language, and it applied to members of other species. He was an extremely emotionally guarded individual, and to see him completely vulnerable was something she hadn't seen. Daro quickly strode the short distance across the extremely small general quarters, gently placing a three fingered hand upon his shoulder. "We'll be there soon, John."

Shepard turned, reaching with his opposite hand, gently removing her hand from his shoulder while retaining it in his grasp. He gave it a light squeeze, and gave her a weak smile, and sat down. Daro sat beside him, and no more words were spoken as the shuttle sped as quickly as possible towards the Shepard residence. Suddenly, Daro noticed something extremely peculiar. "John, look!" She exclaimed loudly, interrupting the human's thoughts.

Shepard glanced down at her omnitool, and watched as many of the craft were rapidly evacuating the scene. In fact, most of the spacecraft had never even landed, instead seemingly guarding the few boarding parties. However, every single craft was speeding away from the area, all headed either back into space or towards the Alliance base. This made little sense if they were slavers, and pirates weren't known for subterfuge or political machinations.

There are moments in a person's life where events occur which words cannot describe. When you don't really feel alive nor dead, but an echo of what you were mere seconds before. They both watched as the entire residential residential district of the Alliance colony of Mindoir exploded, bombardments from space obliterating any last building left standing. This wasn't a raid, this was cold blooded murder. Hundreds of thousands of lives were lost in moments, all but one of the Shepard household included. He cried into Daro's shoulder, while the quarian held him tightly in an embrace, tears freely flowing from her eyes as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks you guys/girls for all of the follows and favorites, they really motivate an author :). And thanks for your patience!**

_Three years, five months, and twenty four days. _He quietly mused as the small freighter exited the mass relay. Over a year ago, John Shepard had completed his early training courses, and had been eventually promoted to his current rank of Lieutenant through exemplary performances. The recently turned twenty three year old Alliance soldier had been a quick learner during basic and beyond, his years of training maintaining and improving weapons clearly coming into play. Although the monetary increase was unnecessary, considering he had astutely kept his stocks in Kassa Fabrications as their value soared, he wouldn't decry the increase in respect a simple raise in rank could do. In fact, though he had been away from the company for his entire enlisted time, he was already a 'paper' millionaire.

After the destruction of much the colony, any available Alliance personnel in the vicinity were tasked with sifting through the ruins to search for survivors and possibly enemy combatants for evidence. However, by the time the message came through to his omnitool, he had already been doing just that. Searching for the scorched plot of Mindoir he used to call home, with Daro'Xen assisting, Shepard had finally managed to find what looked like his home. One of the first farms bordering the suburbs, it had not been spared from bombardment. There wasn't any wreckage to sift through, very few debris to relocate. The smell of burning grass was the only thing left to greet him, the large swaths of smoke creating a hazy dreary atmosphere.

The minutes passed by, but all the young man could do was stare at the ever-increasing inferno, slowly watching the flames reclaim the land his family had settled. Shortly thereafter, he was unable to stop himself from collapsing at the sight, fruitlessly holding back his tears for the second time in the day as Daro placed a supporting hand on his shoulder. A few minutes later, a video call request came through, and it was from none other than his sister's virtual address. He immediately accepted the call, and had felt his heart clench as he saw his sibling, a young woman he had though dead. Unbeknown to him, as Tara explained, she had left the house shortly after him to go shopping with her friends at the commercial district. Since shopping in the mornings wasn't a common activity, and it was substantially far enough from the residential districts, it had been spared the heaviest of the bombardment. Most of the few fortunate enough to be in that area had gotten to safety in the bomb shelters constructed by the Alliance. Ironically, due to their less stringent sleeping requirements, the majority of those saved by the bunkers were turian and elcor.

Daro had eventually, though hesitantly, departed from her two close friends later in the month. Shepard had been truly grateful for her extended presence, wondering just how much worse it would have been without someone to lean on. The quarian had actually protested leaving, even after a couple of weeks had happened since the incident, until the ceremony for the fallen occurred. It was an extremely emotional moment for all three of them, John holding his sister as she cried into his chest, while Daro's eyes remained focused on the speaker, though they sporadically sparkled, the occasional sniffle also confirming her tears. Shepard himself paid little attention to the ones talking, though he did realize that a few of the non-human speakers seemed to be rather important political figures. That provided some small amount of comfort, knowing the loss of so many innocent lives would not be taken for granted, but nothing would bring back his parents. Even the elcor ambassador seemed brimming with emotion, his slow monotone voice lower and deeper than a normal elcor's speech patterns.

The few who was present to view the destruction confirmed the lack of slaves taken, the near complete focus on causing as many casualties as possible. It seemed obvious to all of the humans, and non-humans who had experienced the batarian's animosity towards the newer species, that this was an act of war from the Hegemony. The Alliance had pushed towards a declaration of war, much to the surprise of the other races. The Council, on the other hand, vehemently stood against the humans as there was legally no evidence to prove it was a direct Hegemony action. Even so, it took the threat of major financial sanctions by all Council races to prevent the war between the two species. The two species still live in bordering systems, and the continuance of slaver raids -albeit denied by the Hegemony as their actions- has severely strained relations between the two groups claiming both claiming the other's transgression on their rights. Regardless of the Council's threats, war between the two species seems to almost be inevitable, even years after the Slaughter of Mindoir, as it had been named.

John had kept in contact with his alien friend, though only during a few select occasions could they speak through a video communication's device. Most of their conversations were simple text messages, often no more than a few per week. Although both were extremely introverted, he had definitely connected with the quarian throughout her stay at the colony, and the past few of years he'd spent more time messaging her than even his sister. To be fair, the younger Shepard had been extremely busy on Elysium, and was on her way to becoming a doctor, which in this day in age required the extensive knowledge of more than one species' anatomy. Plus, when he needed her most, she left her schooling for a week simply to be there for him after Akuze.

Shepard had only been on two real missions, firing no shots on either. Apparently even the Blue Suns weren't foolish enough to fire on an Alliance boarding party while surrounded by a fleet of cruisers. His third mission was to be pretty simple as well, guarding a group of scientists while they studied a foreign landscape in Alliance space. No known terrestrial animals, weather within the liquid water range, and an atmosphere that could theoretically allow them to breathe if their envirosuits were breached. Unfortunately, a soldier's luck is a tenuous and sporadic thing at best.

A few days into their mission, the entire group was awakened in the early hours of the planets morning. The Alliance soldiers had quickly ran towards their Grizzly tanks, a few individuals -such as Shepard himself- on foot providing covering fire. The scientists quickly retreated into their laboratory and sealed the door as their protocol had dictated as the rumbling grew steadily louder. The minutes ticked by, the soldiers walking or driving slowly in predicated scouting paths along their operational base. Suddenly, the tank a few meters in front of Shepard's group was launched into the air, before an incredibly large abomination snapped its jaws around it. The crunching sound of metal was followed by a hissing screech, and another giant worm came to snatch a chuck of the vehicle not inside the other's mouth, ripping the chunk off the supposedly powerful tank like tissue paper.

The sound of the Grizzly tanks firing brought him out of his stupor, and Shepard quickly took out his Avenger. Squeezing the trigger to just before overheating, he was shocked at how little damage these beasts were taking. A round from a Grizzly's main gun impacted the beast right below the jaw, but it still didn't manage to do more than cause a small leakage of acid, the droplets burning into the soil as they landed. The rounds from his Avenger might as well have been spitballs as they harmlessly impacted the creature. A third loud screech and the creaking of metal pushed beyond its breaking point behind him signaled a terrible fact... their group was surrounded. His momentary lull in checking his six o'clock was all the time a thresher maw required to slam its jaws down on the Grizzly mere meters away from his position.

He saw all the soldiers on foot sprinting towards the metallic structures used for temporary habitation, and followed behind most of the group. A few unlucky soldiers attempting to escape their tank were too late, and were swallowed alive along with a large portion of the Grizzly. A large group of soldiers in front of him were also devoured in moments, and the ever decreasing foot soldiers ran towards the metal housings. To their absolute horror, a thresher maw shot through the middle of the scientists' laboratory, likely taking many of the humans along with it. Once the few remaining soldiers finally made it to the barracks, a similar situation repeated itself as one of the monsters screeched through the housing, metal and organics disappearing into its acidic gullet. Some of the horrendous substance landed on his leg and abdomen, quickly disintegrating a small amount of the flesh. Shepard screamed as he used his knife to cut away the foul substance, barely managing to jog away from the building before another of the beasts smashed through it as well. He limped towards the shuttles, prepping one for launch before looking back for anyone else able enough to run towards their only escape. Nobody was on the way. The last memory he had was shortly after engaging the autopilot as he finally had succumb to the excruciating pain.

Shepard quickly repressed the painful thoughts, realizing more and more everyday how a perfect memory was a double-edged sword. For every good memory, another lurked in the darkness, a stray thought easily unleashing a torrent of depression and angst. _"Pain and pleasure, like light and darkness, succeed each other." Laurence Sterne..._ He thought to himself, and the old quote actually brought a small smile to his face. Although he had done well in most of the intellectual and physical ordeals for the Alliance, his blatant disrespect of certain superiors had resulted in exhausting punishments. In the Alliance, much like armies of old, the entire group would be punished for the actions of a lone member; needless to say, he had few friends throughout his training. Still, to watch so many of his comrades devoured was incredibly disheartening. After a series of psychological tests, he was proclaimed fit for duty, although he was ordered three months of leave before his advanced training. Even after explaining the scenario in perfect detail, the brass wasn't convinced cowardice was the reason for his survival. Being the lone survivor of Akuze had elevated his status in ways he hadn't foreseen, and he was to train with some of the most elite soldiers humanity had to offer, most of which had at least double his time served, and exponentially more missions under their belts. Against the advisement of the Alliance professionals, he had opted to leave their observation. His smile returned though, as he began to see the small speck of white slowly increase in size, the quarian flotilla. Shepard had never seen it in person, and was pretty sure humans had never stood aboard the galaxy's largest known fleet. Hopefully that would change today.

The young soldier started the unpleasant process of putting on the asari made envirosuit. It was specifically made for long term use on archaeological explorations, and could theoretically be worn safely for two years (according to the advertisements) without removal. John chuckled as he felt how tight it was around his hips; apparently even human males had bigger rears than the asari. It took almost an hour to get the damned thing on and run through the tests, though thankfully everything was working fine. The scent of sterilized air would definitely take some getting used to.

Shepard looked outside, sitting at the cockpit, and by now the fleet was close enough to distinguish ships. His eyes widened as he saw the incredible size of three of the ships. Even from millions of miles away, the huge spherical ships- live ships as he recalled Daro explaining- were distinguishable from the thousands of other smaller ships. He had very little time to appreciate it, however, as apparently his rented freighter had been noticed.

A flurry of red lights warned him of an incredibly large amount of targeting parameters all aimed at his ship. Thankfully, they weren't primed to fire, but still it was rather unnerving to look down the barrel thousands of guns, metaphorically speaking. The salarian pilot looked somewhat disinterested however; apparently their transportation company was used to dealing with the elusive species. Shortly after, a gruff accented voice came through the ship's com.

"You are entering the protected zone of the Quarian flotilla. State your business." It spoke curtly in an accent oddly dissimilar to Daro's.

Shepard placed his arm on the shoulder of the salarian before he could speak, and the pilot shrugged, putting the ship on a slow course and walked over to the coffee maker as John took control of the com. "This is Lieutenant Shepard of the human System's Alliance. I received a confirmation of visitation a few days ago, if I'm not mistaken."

A few moments passed, but his heartbeat calmed as the targeting protocols were removed from his freighter. The quarian voice interrupted his viewing of the screen. "Please proceed to the the coordinates provided on the Moreh, docking bay A14."

Shepard sighed in relief, his paranoia somewhat justified as the freighter had little armor to speak of. "Much obliged controller, Shepard out." He turned over to the salarian who was casually sipping at some coffee while reading a datapad.

"You didn't seem nearly as worried as I was." Shepard quipped with a chuckle, walking towards the same coffee pot to finish off the rest of the beloved black brew.

The pilot looked up from his data pad, a small grin appearing on his face. "My first delivery to the fleet was pretty much the same, don't sweat it." He took another larger sip from his coffee. Shepard took a sip, and was intrigued at the strange flavor the coffee seemed to have. Apparently the salarian noticed, and spoke. "It's the yula nut from Mannovai ground in there, gives it a little extra kick. Don't worry, I would have said something if it was unsafe for humans." The pilot strolled back over to the seat.

Shepard shrugged nonchalantly as the freighter approached the fleet, and downed most of the cup in one large gulp. Whatever nut the salarian was referring to definitely made the brew more potent, and any semblance of lethargy he might have had from the voyage quickly disappeared. "Not bad at all, I have to admit."

After a few minutes, the craft began to slow down as it approached a moderately sized craft, eventually approaching a docking platform with a few odd squiggles above it. His translator quickly gave him the English approximation of the quarian text, confirming it was the area the controller had specified earlier. Docking was a pretty quick procedure, and the salarian pilot seemed skilled enough in his trade to prevent needless delays.

"You'll have to wait in the cargo bay, I'm sealing the rest of the ship off, or not I'd have to wear one of those damned suits as well." The pilot remarked as his human passenger waited in the cockpit. Shepard nodded his understanding, saying a quick farewell as he walked out of the area. The door sealed behind him, and he was left sitting on one of the crates in the bay, listening to the machinery outside work to connect the two spacecraft.

Soon, the decompression of air signaled the success of the endeavor, and before he had time to stand three armed quarians walked into the cargo bay along with another who's suit was adorned with a few extra ornaments. If he had to guess, the male quarian was likely a ranking member of whatever their species called their military. On pure instinct, and lack of knowledge of the proper greeting for their species, Shepard respectfully saluted the man. "Lieutenant Shepard, sir."

The suited male tilted his head slightly, and shortly after placed an arm over his chest with a slight bow. "Do not be concerned with your protocols, Lieutenant Shepard, though I appreciate the sentiment." The quarian retorted, the word of his rank passing awkwardly through the man's accent. It was likely they had a completely different set of rankings, and the word was not translated correctly. Shepard paused, lowering his salute but still unsure of how to approach the conversation. Thankfully, the man superseded his internal debate. "I am Admiral Han'Gerrel, head of the Heavy fleet." The man looked around, as if appraising the cargo bay and his voice spoke with a hint of hesitation. "I do not wish to insult you, but are you quite certain you will be needing this many supplies for your stay?"

Shepard couldn't help but chuckle lightly at the man's false conclusion. "It's alright, Admiral, only those dark brown crates in the corner are my supplies. The others are filled with eezo, I figured if I was planning on staying for a while, it'd be rude to be a burden on your fleet." The man made eye contact, but said nothing, as if appraising him. "In many of our cultures, it's customary to offer something if one's going to be a guest, and from what Daro told me, I thought the fleet would appreciate it."

Apparently that was an understatement, as the quarian admiral was very grateful of the nearly one hundred thousand credits worth of eezo; he even insisted they would unload it all, and his possessions into the correct room. _Daro really put in a good word for me_. He though as he walked towards the area Han'Gerrel had pointed on the map of the Moreh he had acquired. Not a single question was asked by him towards the validity of his expertise, nor the risk for allowing an outsider to research undoubtedly sensitive quarian military intelligence. Much to his surprise, the few quarians he did pass seemed somewhat impartial about his presence on the ship, though he did return a few respectful nods.

Finally reaching the door labeled, in quarian script, as the correct research lab, he opened the door to quite an amusing sight. About ten quarians, a few of which had suits similar to the one Daro had during her tenure, were working at their stations, all the while nervously glancing at the loud argument before them. A dark suited female quarian, whom he immediately recognized as Daro by the pattern on her realk, was vehemently yelling at two individuals in the lab. Oddly enough, one of them was clearly an asari, her clearer helmet broadcasting her true race. _I'll have to ask Daro about that later. _His thoughts were cut short as he tuned into his friend's tirade.

"And you thought you could just remove the conduit? Are you insane!?" She yelled, effectively cowering the male quarian and the asari. "I should kick you both back to the Rayya for this. Do you know how difficult it is to get a functioning geth chassis?!" The two had no rebuttal, and it looked as if Daro was going to continue before he decided to intervene.

"Hey Daro, why don't you quit being such a bosh'tet and say hello" He spoke as he casually strolled into the lab. The two berated individuals looked at him as if he was insane, before taking the opportunity to scurry off as the quarian spoken of refocused her attention. He couldn't help but notice the asari clasping on to the males arm, but his focus quickly switched over to the dark suited female quickly striding his way. Without speaking, she threw her arms around him, which he returned in a very short but tight embrace, before crossing her arms and leaning back on one foot, her common stance when about to retort to his 'humor'.

"You know, you could have waited a few minutes. I wasn't done with those two." She said in a much lighter voice than before. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming today?"

He put a hand on her shoulder, chuckling to himself as she twitched slightly from the contact. "You should know by now, I wouldn't waste the chance to surprise."

"Det kazuat..." She murmured lightly, though he knew she was joking. "Keelah, you don't know how glad I am to finally have someone competent to assist." She motioned him to follow her, and he took the moment to appreciate the new suit she had, which was much more ornate than the one he recalled.

"And here I thought you just asked me to come for my charming personality and looks." He wisecracked, the quarian in front of him snorting at his lame suggestion.

"Please, you humans are always so confident in your looks." She retorted, not even turning as she pulled out a rather large and strange looking weapon.

"Damn." Shepard said as the hefty weapon was set on the stage. "I always knew you were nuts, but what the hell is this?" He stated in slight admiration.

"I've called it the Arc projector." She said smugly, clearly able to read her friend even after all of the years apart. "I think you'll find the modifications for the energy systems quite satisfactory."

"What an original name! I should definitely claim copyright infringement." Shepard joked, receiving a disapproving 'hmph' in response.

"If you didn't remember, it was thanks to me the pistol even hit the market." Daro said confidently, her eyes still broadcasting, at least to him, her smug grin.

"It was only because of my brilliant ingenuity that the design even existed." He said with a false tone of opulence.

"Bosh'tet..." Shepard watched her eyes move in a way resemblant of a sarcastic roll, and she ended the topic by delving into the advancements required for the weapon to properly function. Shepard listened, but a small amount of his attention was focused on the interesting looks he was getting periodically from the few members of the research laboratory's crew. Although he wasn't an expert at reading the quarian species, he would almost bet the few sporadic glances were laced with curiosity.

"Are you even listening to me?" Daro said with a hint of annoyance as his mind wandered, and he refocused his attention; her small hands were disapprovingly on her hips, her eyes slightly narrowed.

He chuckled at the quarian. "You can't have lost that much faith in my attention span. Don't worry Daro, I was listening."

She still had a narrowed eye at the end of his sentence, but seemed unworried at his ability to understand her previous elaboration. Daro, as was to be expected, wasted no time in sending him to retrieve another copy of the prototype, setting him work immediately. He was quickly impressed by the interesting weapon, once again amazed at the ingenuity of the quarian nearby. _I'll have to ask her if I could bring one of these back to the Alliance. I mean Kassa did sign a waiver allowing the quarians to reproduce the weapon, just not for commercial purposes, so humans have got to be in their good graces. _In fact, as he mentally recalled their previous work, it almost seemed like deja vu. Although, he did have to admit the more spacious lab was a definite improvement over the smaller lab they used previously. While tinkering with the interesting contraption, the two shared a large work bench, chatting about the little things in daily life they never had time to add into the messages throughout the years.

His first day on the job was only a few hours thankfully, as the quarians in the room began to shuffle out without him knowing, soon leaving only him and Daro'Xen left. He made eye contact with the asari and male quarian as they left, giving a friendly nod as they both returned it. He began to continue on his research into the weapon, but was stopped by his quarian friend.

"Come on, John. I need to show you to your room or you'll try to sleep in here." She said with a humorous inflection, walking towards the exit. Reluctantly, the human put away the weapon, following her as she left the lab.

Little time passed before John spoke. "You know, Daro, you told me that quarians were an insular people. But yet, here I am working on a research ship, along with an asari, who I'm pretty sure is dating that quarian guy."

Daro shook her head slightly as they continued walking. "We are, out of the seventeen million inhabitants of the flotilla, there are less than one hundred asari on board at one time." She paused for a second and added light-heartedly. "Well, and now one human."

"Really?" John asked curiously. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but do you have to hire specialists to keep parts fleet running?"

Xen looked at him, tilting her head slightly in confusion, before retorting. "No, Shepard. Whenever a pilgrim returns to the fleet, if they wish to mate with an asari, they are both embraced as full citizens. Few remain much longer after their partner passes, though I don't think you need a lecture on our differing life spans."

This caused Shepard to stop in his tracks, somewhat confused as well. "I thought you said quarians bonded in such a way which would make interspecies relationships impossible." _The way she described it, once two of them bonded it was permanent, and even changed chemical balances in their nervous system._

"Improbable." Daro corrected, motioning him to continue strolling though at a slightly slower pace than previously. "But not impossible. You are correct that we quarians bond at a deep level, and most other species cannot fathom how such a connection between can exist. However, the asari species can come close. Biologically, they cannot bond as another quarian would, but with their ability to meld minds, the emotional attachment between a pairing has been seen to be equal as compared to an intraspecies relationship."

"Interesting." Shepard mused aloud, a lull in silence allowing him to digest the information given. He eventually spoke up. "So, what about "Fleet and the Flotilla? Any turians aboard as well?"

Daro scoffed as she turned the corner, which somewhat surprised Shepard as the area they had just passed clearly had a sign marked living quarters, accompanied by a staircase towards the ship's lower level. Before he could question their route, she iterated after a scoff. "That movie was just written by a xenophile and a pilgrim desperate for credits. You do know turian bacteria is the only variety that can actually infect us. Anyone foolish enough to even remove their mask near one would be risking certain death. With the asari, an allergic reaction is the only worry, which is unlikely of seriously jeopardizing a well-prepared quarian's health."

"Huh, you learn something new everyday with you around." Shepard joked, half-serious. She chuckled in reply, still leading them rather far away from the living quarters towards a large sealed door. The woman typed a few commands on her omnitool, opening the rather imposing blockade, which revealed an interesting sight. Much like a terraced farm, what looked like home cubicles were stacked upon another, all with a sturdy looking doors blocking their entrances. A few at the top were green, but for the most part a red holographic sign indicated what he assumed was a sealed door. "Where are we?" He questioned.

"This is where I live, along with the captain of the ship. Unlike the general living quarters, this is one of the ships on the fleet which contains an entire area dedicated towards clean rooms. Since I funded this addition, the captain thought it fit that I live in one." She stated proudly, appraising the room before heading towards one of the ladders. Her voice went slightly soured as she continued. "Though this benefit does come at the cost of having to climb up to one of the top floors."

Shepard laughed, and retorted. "So, only a few ships have clean rooms? I can imagine they are pretty important for... continuing the race."

She shook her head before clasping the ladder. "No, every ship regardless of size has a clean room for emergencies, though most have only a couple. However, for the purposes you stated, many quarians must travel towards a nearby ship such as this containing a safe amount them, often reserving the room days in advance." Shepard followed her, almost getting kicked in the face as he looked around the room. She continued. "Few quarians permanently live in clean rooms, only those who financially provided for them from their pilgrimages."

Shepard mused on that for a second before replying. "So, will the captain be disapproving of me living in one? I assume I am since you brought me here."

They reached the top of the area, which thankfully had about a three foot width walkway between the separate units, and walked towards the far corner as she responded. "Well at first he was disappointed, but once I told him you were a large portion of why I acquired the technology and money in the first place, he relented." She pointed back at the first home by the ladder. "His home is there, if you ever have any more questions. Our cubicles are located towards the end."

"Thank goodness, for a moment I thought I'd be stuck living with you again." He wisecracked, causing her to quickly turn on her heels and cross her arms disapprovingly. "Hey, I was just kidding!"

She rolled her glowing eyes, turning in silence towards the end of the hallway. "Here's your room John." The quarian typed a few things onto her omnitool, and his beeped momentarily later, notifying him of a received data packet. Opening it, he verified his ID, which caused the door in front of him to automatically open. The room was small, approximately 5 meters by 9 meters, and only contained a bed. He was pleased to see all of his crates neatly stacked in the far corner. _I'll have to break into that rum stash a little early, that was one hell of a trip. Maybe even give Daro her present. Still.. how the heck did they even bring these things up this high?_

"I'll let you unpack for the night, my room is right next door if you need anything. Tomorrow will be a longer day than today, though I've already planned around the extra sleep your species requires." Daro said sincerely, already leaving the small home.

"Hold on a second Daro." He waited until she turned, gesturing to the ten crates taking most of the back of the room. "I brought something for you. Help me get these crates off." He sealed the door behind her and removed his helmet, sighing at the relief. _Glad I brought a few pairs of clothes just in case, plus what I wore here_. The quarian obliged after chuckling at his relieved expression. Thankfully the crate containing the alcoholic beverages was near the top of the stacks.

"Keelah..." She panted for a moment after setting down the fairly heavy crate as John chuckled. "Oh shut up primate."

Shepard wisely didn't retort, instead typing into his omnitool for the correct sequence to disengage the lock. Moments later, a small click signified the unlocking, and he carefully pried the lid off. Luckily, none of the bottles appeared damaged.

"Seriously John? An entire crate of this?" Daro stated somewhat flabbergasted, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Hey now" He defended weakly. "I thought I was going to be stuck in a suit the whole time, so I came prepared!"

She scoffed at his suggestion, then added humorously. "You'd make a terrible quarian, John."

He was pulling out multitudes of bottles, searching for the right ones. Finally, an 'aha' accompanied him placing two bottles on the bed. Daro picked one up curiously as he spoke. "That one's some vintage turian wine, and the other is a much more potent whiskey." He dug around some more, before pulling out two metal cups stacked on each another, placing one on the top of the crate as to not mix the flavors of various spirits.

"You do know I've only had a few alcoholic beverages in my life?" She said cautiously as she examined the bottle of whiskey.

"I don't expect you to drink the whole bottle at once Daro." He replied jocularly, putting away all of the bottles besides one of the spiced rums. "Though you're welcome to share a drink with me tonight." He said, as he casually poured the amber beverage into his cup and sat on the bed, holding it to his nose for a moment to enjoy the smell, but respectfully not taking a sip yet.

For a moment, he thought she would refuse, but instead she opened the bottle, and much to his surprise grabbed the other cup from the top of the crate. "Um, Daro? What are you doing?" He asked uncertainly.

Instead of answering, she simply opened the bottle of turian wine, pouring herself a generous glass of the interestingly light blue beverage before closing the bottle, setting both on the table. Shepard watched intrigued as she refocused her eyes on him, clasping her hands around her waist. "Well, our suit's recycling system gives us all of the water we need, and I didn't plan for this, so I didn't bring an emergency induction port." She fiddled around with her omnitool, and only later would he figure out she was injecting herself with immuno-boosters.

Shepard wanted to chuckle at whatever an 'emergency induction port' was, but his mouth was frozen ajar as the quarian reached up to her visor. A hiss of air decompressing confirmed what his disbelieving eyes were feeding him, and the darkened black visor that had separated her face from the galaxy for most of her life was no longer in the way.


	5. Chapter 5

**The default image I will be using for a pre-war quarian can be found here. I did not draw the picture, nor claim to own any rights it, but merely believe that it is a perfect representation of the image I am attempting to describe!**

** art/Tali-287968068**

The quarian woman gently placed the mask on the crate, carefully sitting down beside it. Shepard was staring at her, his mouth slightly agape; she immediately felt her cheeks flush under his unwavering gaze, causing her normally pale lavender skin to darken into a more violet blush. Moments passed and the human continued to stare; the normally confident woman nervously crossed her legs as she continued to hold onto the cup.

It only was a few seconds, but to both it had seemed like an eternity before John spoke up. "Oh my god, Daro..." He whispered, the quarian woman's heart rate accelerating for a moment before he persisted. "You're beautiful." Shepard wasn't lying. Although her skin complexion was clearly different than his own, and her eyes had no iris, a pair of glowing silver almonds staring back into his own eyes, the rest of her face was surprisingly similar to that of a humans. He could not tell if she had hair or not, but the beginnings of a similar structure between a human's hair and an asari's scalp crests briefly took his attention. In the few images he had seen of her species, all of which were before the war, their skin was a much darker color. His contemplation was cut short as was the silence.

Daro was still nervous, but her blush finally abated. "I... thank you, John."

He chuckled lightly, but then in a more serious tone silently questioned. "You told me a revealing of the quarian's face was meant only for mates, the closest of friends, and family members." John paused for a moment as he let that sink in, and continued sincerely. "I really am glad you trust me with your appearance, Daro. You're really the only friend I've ever had who's stuck by me."

Daro herself laughed lightly, her face's color fully reverting back to a pale lavender. "Please, let us have a 'toast' before we converse." Although she had hid the physical part of her nervousness, her mind was still swarming in insecurity, and a small amount of inebriant seemed like a pleasant solution.

"Fine." He said humorously. He raised his cup towards her, and the mask-less woman obliged by carefully clinking the glasses together. "To you, you crazy bosh'tet, the smartest quarian on the whole damn fleet."

She smirked as she responded, and Shepard was very surprised to see how sharp her teeth were, the two canine analogues slightly larger than his own. It matched her personality perfectly, in his opinion. "And to you, you primate, the smartest man I have ever met, and my closest friend. Keelah se'lai!"

The two clinked their classes, a human tradition Daro had apparently learned, before drinking out of their glasses. The rum warmed his stomach, and was palatable as he'd hoped. Puerto Rico was known for having some of the best rum on Earth, and he was definitely not disappointed with the hint of cherry in the liquor. Looking towards his friend, he noticed she had drained her glass of wine rather quickly and was opening the bottle of turian whiskey, still seated. "Are you sure about that, Daro? It's pretty potent." He remarked humorously as the alien female poured a half glass of the stronger beverage.

She rolled her eyes, a fascinating yet difficult to discern gesture with her lack of a pupil, then retorted. "I'm already going to get sick, John." Daro took a large gulp of the beverage, before standing and coughing a few times as he chuckled. She then appeared to soothe her throat with a strange purring sound before sitting back down. Xen frowned slightly at the cup, and glanced back at Shepard, who had a rather large grin at the scene.

"I told you so." He said whimsically, causing the quarian to increasingly glower.

She glanced at the bottle for a few moments before exclaiming. "Keelah, this is nearly pure alcohol. Why didn't you tell me?"

His grin increased, and he drained his glass. As he replenished the glass with the same liquid, he countered. "I was going to, but no, once you become a head researcher you're too smart to listen to the advice of us lowly primates."

She chuckled at his sarcasm. "I didn't expect it to be almost seventy five percent alcohol, so hush." She took another, though substantially smaller, drink of the whiskey.

"So, is it any good? The shop keeper told me it was from one of the more renowned distilleries." He questioned politely. It was quite difficult to rate any consumable product that you could not enjoy yourself, and he had decided against even taking a small sip. Some levo species could handle a fractional amount of certain dextro-based alcoholic drinks, if they contained little protein. However, the more popular brands among the turians were flavored with meat products, much like fruit was used for asari and human brands. The wine was also out of the question simply by it's price, and he hadn't wanted to spoil it by opening it.

"It's actually quite good. Definitely a change of pace from the recycled water and paste we eat." She answered happily, and he noticed her cheeks were slightly darker than earlier. Her tone seemed the same, so he assumed her species had a similar effect as a human's countenance reddening after drinking. "Thank you for these, it's been far too long since I've relaxed." Shepard nodded in understanding, her messages throughout the years many a time vents of frustration, which was a large part of the reason he decided on the gift in the first place. She continued. "Those bosh'tets in the lab are all the fleet could spare. With results, however, I'll be able to get more experienced workers."

"They didn't seem so bad." He casually remarked, but knowing Daro added. "But I've only spent a few hours there."

She 'hmph'd in reply, taking another sip of the liquor. "How was your first day on a quarian research lab? I assume it was somewhat different than your previous work."

Shepard thought for a moment recalling the days events. "Your people are very... animated." He lifted a hand to forestall her question. "Everyone seemed to get very excited when they managed to increase the power just by a few percents, hell, I nearly got whacked in the head by a woman's flailing arm." John chuckled at the memory, and Daro grinned slightly, likely knowing exactly how socially expressive her species was compared to his own. He continued however. "And then there's you, remind me never to piss you off. You could out-yell the loudest Alliance commanding officer without even trying."

Her cup was already down, possibly even empty, and she responded by crossing her arms defensively. "You'd better not, you know who's in charge in my lab. One wrong word and you're stuck on cleaning duty for a month." Although the words themselves sounded somewhat threatening, her slightly playful tone told him she was joking.

"If I stayed here permanently, I bet I'd be the head lab tech in no time." Shepard wisecracked in retort, feeling the pleasant buzz of the rum. She rolled her eyes again, a gesture he felt like he'd never get tired observing, before she downed the little whiskey left in her cup, reaching again for the stronger liquor. _She did say she'd hardly drank in her life, maybe that whiskey was a little too much. _"Daro, are you sure you need more?" He perused as politely as possible.

She snorted slightly, covering her mouth at the unladylike noise before retorting. "I'm already doing to be sick, John. I don't think a slight hangover is going to affect it too greatly." Thankfully, she chose to close the bottle of turian whiskey and instead poured a glass of the wine.

"Like I said, you never listen to us lowly primates." He joked and finished his second cup of the rum. He poured himself a third, having no desire to make the effort in getting another bottle out of the crate, especially since it was Daro's de facto seat.

The two began to speak for a while, slowly sipping their beverages through the better course of an hour as they switched their conversation towards more technical topics. A few words were forgotten sporadically, as was the slurred pronunciation by both on multiple occasions. Still, it seemed the two at least had a plan to get this larger weapon towards a useful state, though cost of production would have to be addressed at a later date. Daro had wisely stuck to only two cups of wine in the time period, though it was rather clear she was nearing the drunk stage. Shepard wasn't too far behind sticking to the liquor.

"Shepard." Daro inquired quietly after a pleasant lull in conversation. "What happened when you went off on that mission? You didn't..." She paused for a moment, putting a small three fingered hand to her helmet, before continuing." You didn't respond to my message for almost two months, and even when you did, you just seemed... different for a long period." She paused for a second, before nervously adding. "I mean, if you want to talk about it."

The words brought terrible memories to his mind, the small home cubicle quickly fading away as he slipped into the past. _Screaming, the screaming was one thing that always haunted him in his dreams, even more so than the few images he had been unfortunate enough to witness. The shrill sound of the thresher maws devouring their prey echoed in his ears, the beast swallowing their prey whole as they quickly searched for another target. A large piece of a Grizzly tank nearly hit him as the lucky soldiers not confined to the metal death traps sprinted away, though none would survive this day._

"Shepard!" His vision quickly snapped back to the present, a worried looking quarian standing in front of him with an arm on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" He noticed she was swaying ever slightly, and seemed to be using him as a support to remain standing.

"I'm fine Daro." Shepard croaked, his throat dried from reliving the memory in perfect clarity. He felt emotionally drained from the short memory burst.

Her eyes narrowed in doubt, but she removed her hand from his shoulder, unsteadily walking the few steps to her crate and sitting back down. "I didn't mean to make you relive any bad memories, John."

He looked back up at her and smiled weakly. _It was a pretty classified mission, I'm pretty sure few outside of the brass few have even heard of the slaughter down there. _In a near whisper he responded. "I'm sorry Daro, but please not today. I saw a lot of people die that day, but that's all I'll say for now."

"I'm apologize for bringing it up." The quarian replied softly, unsure what else to say.

"It's fine Daro, I'll tell you someday, just not with" He motioned to his cup of alcohol. "This clouding my thoughts."

"Alright." She said just as quietly as before. The quarian drained her cup of wine, standing before quickly falling down in a drunken heap, cursing as she fell. She attempted to get up, succeeding only by using the crate as leverage. John could not help but chuckle loudly at his drunken friend before him, a scene which definitely helped him forget the demons of his past. "Shut up..." Daro growled as she leaned against the crate, struggling to plant herself back on top of it. "I." She groaned slightly and put her hands to her head. "Keelah, I shouldn't have drank that much."

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Now look who's the bosh'tet." Shepard intoned safely from his bed. True, he was definitely drunk, but a few years in the army had trained his liver for such occasions. Hell, he'd even had to speak to a superior on occasion while inebriated.

The quarian made an interesting sounding groan as she leaned her head into both of her hands. Shepard quietly sipped his drink as the seconds passed by. After a minute, and she still hadn't moved, he became slightly worried and stood up. The flush of dizziness was somewhat unpleasant, but he was still able to control the nausea that arose in his stomach, and walked towards the woman. John grabbed her mask from the crate beside her, and took a moment to give it a thorough visual examination. It seemed to have multiple areas for tactical displays, and he curiously put it in front of his field of vision. Although the visors were tinted, looking out of one from the inside there was no discoloration of the image past it. He continued to hold the visor in one hand as he gently nudged her shoulder a few times, and the woman blinked rapidly at her awakening. Shepard smirked at Daro, clearly awoken from a slumber. "Daro, you might want to put this back on before you go to bed." He held the visor in front of her.

The quarian grabbed it as she unsteadily tried to place it back on. John put his hands over hers, carefully guiding the visor to it's correct location. A hiss indicated that it had been resealed, and once again only the glowing orbs met his gaze, the mask shielding the beautiful alien woman from his view. However, moments later, even those disappeared as she again rested her head between her hands, eyes closed. "Keelah..." She groaned.

"Need help getting up?" John questioned though in a whisper more for her obviously aching head. She nodded slightly, and he took her left hand in his own; although Daro was using him as a crutch, she still nearly fell as she stood, and he had to catch her in an embrace to keep her from falling again. "You okay Daro?" He said quietly inches away from her visor.

Her eyes slowly opened, and she nodded her head lightly, then rested her head on his shoulder tiredly. She felt like a dead weight against him, and after a few steps she almost fell again. Sighing, Shepard left the woman on the floor for a moment as he resealed his own helmet, and opened the door to his cubicle, lifting the surprisingly heavy quarian into his arms as she grunted a feeble protest. _Geez, either I need to work out more or that suit's much heavier than I thought. Still, hopefully nobody se-_

Stepping out the door, he was greeted by a male quarian headed towards his direction. By the ornaments in his suit, he could tell the man was of a respected rank on the fleet; the suit was slightly less ornate than the Admiral Gerrel he had met earlier, and was adorned with a dark orange pattern. He immediately thought of the strange bow the admiral had done earlier, but he realized there was a passed out drunk woman in his arms. _Perfect first impression..._

The man continued his stride towards him as he stood in frozen stupor. "Lieutenant Shepard." The man professionally intoned, somewhat awkwardly on his rank.

"I apologize sir, but I have not been informed of your station or name." He replied as calmly as he could. Daro rustled in his arms as if attempting to get more comfortable. _I can't believe this atrocious timing..._

The man glanced at the female quarian in his arms for a long moment, before acknowledging his question. "Captain Kilm'Vael vas Moreh."

_Shit. _"Oh, Captain, sir." John motioned towards the sleeping quarian in his arms, and forced out a weak chuckle as he added. "I would salute you, but my hands are full."

The man was about so speak, and with impeccably unfortunate timing, Daro coughed loudly again, before rustling slightly and continuing her alcohol-induced rest. Glancing at the door leading to her apartment, he typed a few commands onto his omnitool, and the door was opened. Captain Vael then monotonously iterated. "I would like to speak with you after you drop Miss Xen at her home cubicle.

His mind was racing, as he didn't like the sound of whatever this conversation might entail. The captain said nothing more, turning and walking towards his room on the opposite side of the level. After dropping off his best friend, who again coughed a few times, he made his way out of the room, the door closing behind him. Shepard wasn't worried about her health, at least not in a lethal sense, as she had clearly told him of all the different boosters she had injected to prevent a powerful allergic reaction. He also recalled her explaining that their adult suits had emergency medical programs which alerted the ship's medical officers while also administering any treatment possible.

John walked towards the captain's quarters, which quickly opened at his presence. Entering the room, he was somewhat surprised to note that it was of the exact same size, save for a second small bed pushed against the single one his room had. Also, the desk was in the back of the room, only a small space allowing the man to sit himself. Another chair was in front of the desk, which he assumed he only kept for meetings with the crew, much like this occasion. In the corner a female quarian was peacefully sleeping. Shepard refocused on the captain quickly, doing the best imitation of the bow he had seen earlier.

"Come in, Lieutenant Shepard." The man said quietly. His strange pronunciation of the word 'Lieutenant' caused him to conclude that the rank was not translated to the native quarian tongue. As Shepard took a few quiet steps, the man added. "And please, sit. My bond mate Jiena often turns off her audio receptors, and should not awake due to a conversation."

"Yes sir." John said as calmly as possible, although his mind continued to race. The chair was slightly wider than any he had used in the Alliance, and his mind immediately conjured a mental image of Daro's rather impressive hips. If he hadn't trained to keep a neutral facade over the years, it would have undoubtedly ended in a chuckle.

"We had never allowed a human on board one our ships until you arrived." The man spoke in a relaxed tone. "Allow me to welcome you to the fleet, and specifically, my ship. Daro'Xen spoke highly of your exploits, and we are grateful for your assistance." Shepard was about to respond, but the quarian continued in a more appraising tone. "Your large eezo contribution to the fleet has greatly benefited countless ships, and many of the recipients wished for me to express their gratitude. I am not sure if you knew, but our fleet is in constant demand for it, and your gift has calmed many fears of a shortage. Thank you, Lieutenant Shepard."

He finally found his time to speak. "It was no problem, it's an old custom among humans to provide resources if you plan on staying at another's living space. But please, call me John or Shepard, it won't offend me in the least."

"Very well Shepard." Captain Kilm retorted. The quarian leaned back on his chair, crossing his legs before continuing. "As the captain of the ship, it's imperative that I monitor the health of all of my crew mates." He paused for a moment, as if considering his words before continuing. "We quarians do not have the privilege of having as much privacy concerning social matters on board the fleet as you may be accustomed to among your own species. Although I am not unfamiliar with a social alcoholic drink among friends, I cannot help but call to question what I saw earlier."

_I think I know what he's hinting at... _"Are you suggesting something sir? Please speak plainly."

The man nodded once, and spoke in a more professional tone. "I don't think you understand, Shepard. Quarians are a monogamous race, and if -"

"We didn't make any physical contact, sir." Shepard intruded, a hint of a blush appearing over his masked countenance. "I apologize for interrupting."

The captain nodded his head, glancing at his omnitool for a moment. "Most of the time, whenever I am informed of an infection, it occurs in tandem with their life mate, as would be expected. Though I apologize for inferring such, I must still ask why one of my top researchers is currently incapacitated due to your bacteria."

"She took off her mask with me to share a drink." He said calmly. "Apparently she didn't have an emergency induction port, and we've been friends for years, well, human years. I'm not sure what time standard your species operates by."

The captain nodded, and retorted. "I needed to know if the health of a crew member was needlessly jeopardized, which does not seem to be the case." He paused for a moment, as if considering his words. "Regardless, I hope you realize what such an act means towards by of our species; she fully trusts you, which is no small feat for an outsider to attain."

Nodding to the captain as he stood from his seat, he asked politely.

"Daro's actually one of the older unbonded females on the fleet. She's actually rejected no less than seven potential suitors, one of even the same gender." He informed the man. "I do not claim to know how you or your species works, Shepard, but she clearly has her sights on someone other than those who were interested in her."

John chuckled outwardly, but what the captain said was racing through his mind. _I never even thought she would be interested in me like that. The species barrier just seems like she'd be more interested in one of her own people.. though I can't say I'm not attracted to what she has to offer. At least I know she'll always be my close friend. _"Is there any other information you require, captain?"

"Well." The man spoke hesitantly. "Would you happen to have any more of the spirits? I can't say I wouldn't like a strong drink or two, perhaps even with my bond mate; it's been years since the fleet has requisitioned enough."

Shepard chuckled, walking towards the small home's exit. "Sure thing, but if you end up like Daro, don't expect me to carry you back to your bed, sir."

The captain's laughter echoed behind him as he went to retrieve the whiskey and cups.

* * *

Three months had came and went, three months of working side by side with his closest friend and her peers. Nearly every day after work, the two would meet up in one of their rooms as Shepard ate and they both conversed. Daro's nutrient paste was always available to her (though the suit's food tubes required periodic refilling), which allowed her to eat whenever she was hungry. She never did touch the turian whiskey, however, and since she didn't remember him carrying her to her home cubicle, he never brought up the topic. They were both more than happy to discuss any innovations, random situations at work, or anything in between.

However, the Alliance had called his omnitool earlier in the day, and he had already discussed with the captain how an Alliance transport would be picking him up in approximately twelve hours. He had yet to bring the news to his friend as she arrived at his home cubicle, fresh from refilling her suit's paste storage.

"Why are you upset, John?" She stated as she took a seat by one of the few remaining crates.

"I have to report to training in a few days, and a transport is coming to pick me up after this sleep cycle." Shepard stated softly, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice.

Daro rarely took off her mask, only a few times since her first time to drink a cup or two of wine. She'd been more than okay with him donating the rest of the bottle to the captain, citing the worst headache she had ever attained due to it as the reason. Still, today her mask came off as she sat on the crate nearby, her normal sitting post when they conversed in his room. "Are you nervous? You've told me the N7 training was the most difficult your species had to offer." She said as she took most of the remaining contents of the wine bottle into her cup.

"Well, yeah, I'm thrilled to get this opportunity." John answered, deciding to get one of the few remaining beers from his stash. After the can crisply opened, he continued. "I'm going to miss this place, though. It's a little different than anywhere I've ever lived, but also the nicest people I've ever had the pleasure to make an acquaintance." He said earnestly, then added. Though my was always hounding me."

"Bosh'tet." She said humorously, shaking her head slightly. "Well, I am sure I would not be the only quarian to welcome you back aboard the fleet, John, if you desired. You've helped us make significant strides in the lab, and not a single fleet member has complained about your actions or attitude."

John chuckled, taking a nice gulp from the brew. "Are you sure, Daro? I've had a few narrow eyed glares, especially some of the older members in the lab. I'm grateful though you seemed to dissuade them from getting vocally angry at my presence. I know how difficult it must be to trust an outsider in one's home."

Daro sighed, taking a sip before responding. "I think you're over reacting, Shepard. I don't think you've caused a single person on the ship to think negatively of you or your race. Though some were not as trusting at the beginning, I do not believe that is the case any longer."

"Well, I'm glad I had you looking out for me regardless. You could probably scare off a krogan with those lungs of yours." Shepard jested.

Daro laughed, her canines baring slightly before she had another sip. The two were comfortable in each other's company without the need for speech, and the silence lasted for a while before Shepard spoke up. "I don't know how often I'll be able to message you during my training, Daro. I hope you don't think I'm ignoring you, because I wouldn't."

The quarian nodded. "I know, John. I don't expect you to have much free time during your training." He couldn't help but detect the hint of sadness in her voice, along with the slight drop of her very humanoid, though lavender, lips. The woman was rather talented at appearing neutral in most situations, but his time with the woman had helped him see through her mask, figuratively speaking.

"Do you think you'll be alright proceeding with the prototype with just a group of 'feeble minded bosh'tets' as you so eloquently described." He joked, trying to elevate the mood.

"I think I'll manage, though at a much slower pace most likely." She jested in return, though it didn't seem to contain a true sense of humor. Still, the attempt seemed to have failed, and the two seemed unsure of what else to say, a quiet and slightly uncomfortable atmosphere descending upon the small home cubicle.

"I'm going to miss you, Daro." He admitted quietly.

The quarian stood from her crate, and took a few steps towards the human before sitting beside him on the bed, meeting his eyes. "I know, John..." She paused momentarily, before continuing. "I don't think the ship will ever feel the same without you aboard." What occurred next was something he had not expected, as a small tear formed around her luminescent eyes. Unlike a human's tear duct, however, the drop began falling from the distal end of the eye, though he had little time to observe them as she turned her head away.

He scooted slightly over towards the woman, placing an arm around around her shoulders and cooed softly, which in of itself was a new experience in of itself. "Are you alright?" She chuckled weakly, raising her right hand towards her face in a poorly disguised attempt to wipe the tears away from her eyes. Shepard blushed slightly, noticing his arm was still around her, but didn't make an effort to remove it.

"I don't think there's anyone else on the fleet I can actually speak to." Daro whispered, looking down at her hands. "Even the members of my lab are scared of me more than anything."

John chuckled lightly. It was rather true, what she stated. Many of her underlings were absolutely terrified of under performing in their research, or presenting her with fruitless data pertaining to the project. "You're a very demanding woman, Daro. I won't lie to you and say otherwise." She looked at him with a slight frown, but he continued. "But you're a wonderful woman, and you're the smartest person I've ever met. I really don't think there's anyone I've ever met who I could actually talk to like I can with you, who actually enjoys my humor, my company. I'm very grateful for that."

Daro smiled, her teeth baring slightly due to their size, while her eyes seemed to moisten up slightly, though no tears fell. He released his arm from around her, both of them taking a few sips of their alcohol, though a far cry from their first meeting with such beverages. "Are you scared of opening up to people?" John asked suddenly. Her head quickly turned in slight confusion, so he elaborated. "It's the hardest thing for me to do, honestly. Sure, I have people who like me, and I'd be so bold as to say few have many negative things to say about me... but they really don't know much about me. I can't really say what I think all of the time, because I'm nervous about how someone will react. You're the only person, besides my sister, that I've ever talked to about myself. Not just things I've accomplished, but how I feel, how I actually think about a situation."

"I do know how you feel John. I cannot even talk to my parents about many things we discuss without fear or worry; with you, you actually listen to what I have to say... you actually understand what it's like to be in my situation, and you never judge me for any decisions, even if you've disagreed with how I handled them."

Shepard smiled at the woman, a warm feature upon his countenance, but did not have time to respond before she spoke again. "I've wanted to tell you something, John." Xen responded softly, though with a hint of nervousness.

"You can say whatever is on your mind, Daro." Shepard replied quietly, somewhat surprised by her sudden apprehension, which seemed to counter what she had just said moments before.

"I don't think I can say it." She answered as quietly as before.

"What do you mean?" He answered slightly confused.

Some things in life take you completely by surprise, sweeping you off you feet into a completely different universe than you had previously experienced. The quarian woman leaned over, placing one of her hands behind Shepard's head as she pulled his head towards her. In one swift motion, her lips connected with John's.

He didn't know how to react as his lips met those of the alien woman's. Her kiss was gentle, softer than that of the few human women he had experienced throughout his training in the Alliance. But there was something more, something indescribable to the simple sense of touch. Her taste, it was slightly sweet, and left an interesting tingle in his mouth as the opposing chirality proteins interacted with one another, but little of that was on his mind right now. Moments passed as the two's lips continued to fight for dominance before Daro pulled her face away, her cheeks darkened partially by the action, and more importantly, his response._ That was incredible..._

John reached out, gently caressing her cheek with his hand. Her skin was a little rougher than his own, but was still very soft. She gasped lightly, her face darkening even more so, as he continued to stroke her face, he whispered. "Are you sure about this Daro? Do you really want me? I know you've told me a little abo-"

Daro interrupted him by quickly standing off the bed, and pushing his chest back onto the bed. She straddled him just as rapidly, her rather powerful thighs squeezing against him as if to hold him down. The quarian then lowered her head towards his, so close that their noses were nearly touching. Her eyes were as luminous as ever, an image he would never forget, even if he had the ability to. "I've never been so sure of anything in my life." Daro softly replied before her lips made contact with his once more.

Neither knew of how long their contact lasted, and neither seemed to care of such trivial matters. Though after an indiscernible amount of time, her relentless assault on his lips finally ceased. Shepard did find it cute at how quickly she fell asleep beside him, her mask still off. She seemed to be sniffling lightly, but since she was still cradling him much like a lifeline and due to her previous times mask-less with him likely improving her immune system against human microbes, he decided against getting up to retrieve her mask. _I really don't want to leave the flotilla, now..._ He thought as he recounted the recent development. The exhaustion and small amounts of alcohol caught up to him, and his eyes began to reluctantly close on their own accord. The last thoughts John had as he turned to lay on his side, facing her, were of happiness, nervousness, but most importantly, love.


	6. Chapter 6

**My computer had a RAM malfunction, which caused a two week delay on this chapter due to repairs :(. I hope you enjoy this chapter, as the story's background has already been laid out. It's time for Mass Effect :D. I do hope you are all enjoying this somewhat AU version, and would be grateful for any reviews!**

_Shepard groaned lightly as he saw the Alliance shuttle dock slow down beside the Moreh; a team of quarian protectors, analogous to a human police officer, customarily stood by the airlock in case of emergency. John stood a little away from the group, instead opting to stand by the only other quarian nearby, Daro, as he had already been given a farewell by the lab members and the captain. The last crate filled with his possessions was already beside the airlock, as he had donated the rest of the surprisingly light mechanically-advanced boxes to the fleet. He had no need to carry so many empty crates back with him, and the captain seemed more than happy to accept more resources. The man had even told him that he was always welcome back on the ship, chuckling as he told Shepard that Daro had even asked the captain if she would be able to venture off the ship on occasion, which he approved of course._

_A soft and slightly metallic sigh came from his side as Daro tightly clutched his hand, either not knowing or not caring that the few passersby had given them both intrigued glances. They had not announced their relationship to any aboard, though he was certain many of the more keen quarians would be able to conclude on it. Her personality had drastically changed over the past week, at least towards him. Even in the lab, she was always right beside him, and she had taken to sleeping in the same room as him for the past week. Both of them were less social towards the other members of the fleet during the final week as they were more focused of each other. They did not intentionally ignore anyone, but were far less communicative unless they were directly questioned in the lab._

_The two had talked extensively about their new relationship the day after their first kiss. Obviously there were quite a few questions Shepard had regarding how the interspecies relationships had worked with the asari on the emotional aspects He already knew from first-hand experience they were anatomically nearly identical to human females. John had never been one to go through relationships. Throughout his tenure on Mindoir, he was too young to be bothered with such things. On Sur'Kesh, he had pursued a few asari, and though he had lost his virginity, the maidens attending the university seemed to be uninterested in a prolonged relationship. It seemed as though he would never be with a woman of his own species, something he would share in common with Daro'Xen._

_Daro had told him about the several stages of bonding, and how they were already well on their way in the first step of the process. However, she was reluctant to elaborate on the second and third steps, and he didn't push her for information when she was clearly uncomfortable. It was a strange feeling in his eyes, to know a woman from a completely different species was vying for your heart in a permanent relationship, but it was far from unwelcome. Daro was the one woman he could trust with anything on his mind, even more than his sister. She just seemed to understand his perspective, an entirely logical approach in most matters with not as much emphasis on the opinions of others, or their emotions. If there really was a possibility for a quarian to bond with a human, as she had continuously called their relationship, John was absolutely certain they would find the way._

_Her beauty was revealed to him every night, her soft lips reminding him of how lucky of a man he truly was. The physical contact was obviously limited, their nights were without any sexual interactions, as many species would have likely partaken in. Shepard kept in mind what she told him on the second night, when he had inquired if that was what she wanted. Being a human male, when a woman strolled into your bed chambers and pounced on you, a few suggestive thoughts came to mind. However, he was perfectly okay with waiting. Quarians did not have sex until their bond was fully recognized by the fleet, regardless of how advanced their stages of bonding had progressed. Thankfully, this did not apply to kissing, which they did every morning and night after their first time. He learned though after the second night that grabbing her posterior, which had drawn a swat to the chest the first time, or gently caressing her spine as they continued kissing, furthered her passions exponentially. He had a few bruises on his thighs from where her powerful legs squeezed against his hips as she straddled him. Her immune system only had minor reactions to his microbes after unmasking herself multiple times in his presence previously, though she had told him after a rather intense make out session the day before he left that her immunities would be weaker as their time apart grew. The quarian beside him broke their his contemplations, and their almost comfortable silence._

"_I don't care how hard you're training John. You'd better call me whenever you can." Daro demanded, though her voice carried clear undertones of sadness._

_John chuckled in an attempt to liven the situation. "You'd have to try pretty hard to get rid of me Daro, especially now." _

_Daro responded physically, putting an arm around his waist and bringing him closer to her, resting her head on his shoulder. "I only hope you are not busy for long. I have never been happier than these few months than any other time in my life."_

_The sound of an air lock opened, and John's mind raged internally on whether he should say what was on his mind. In that moment, he decided to just speak his mind and hope it wasn't too much. John turned so he was facing her, his helmet inches away from her visor. "Daro, I don't know how it's going to be for either of us in this. I don't know how long I'll be busy, or how long it'll take before I can see you again in person... but I want you to know..." He paused for a moment, and she held his gaze as the internal debate still raged within him, but he pursued on. "Well.. I think... I think that..." His resolve faltered, and he earnestly continued. "I care about you more than anything and anyone else." He wished he had said exactly what was on his mind, that he loved her, but he was terrified of her response._

_Daro quickly threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly as the sounds of the airlock door opening reached his ears. She quietly whispered. "I know John, and I hope you realize I feel the same about you. Please, come back to me."_

_"I will Daro. I promise." He replied just as quietly._

* * *

Shepard gazed at the drive core in awe, letting the soothing hum of the element zero relax his mind, both of which were a common occurrence for him whenever his shift ended in the engineering section. Although he'd always been confident in his abilities in technological fields -and more recently on the battlefield- , being recently assigned to Captain Anderson as his XO was an extremely surprising, though not unwelcome, opportunity. The SSV Normandy was the most advanced stealth frigate ever created, and he had the chance to learn all of the details about its operation; from weapons systems to propulsion schematics, countless years of research sat at the tip of his fingers. John was known for his technical genius long before he was in the military, but out of respect he did not make any changes without consulting Adams. Ships were not his specialty, though every day he found himself more and more comfortable with the ship's design. After just a couple of weeks on the ship, Shepard had already concluded that Adams was completely different than his old director at Kassa, a man who wanted the job done as quickly as possible and with little training in the subject. Chief Engineer Adams wanted the job done as effectively as possible, and was always willing to hear any suggestion from even the lowest engineer on the deck. John respected the man, quiet, easy going, but one of the smartest human ship engineers he had ever encountered.

Being the XO of a ship wasn't what he had expected after completing the training in Rio de Janeiro, and afterwards the various other uninhabited exoplanets where the latter levels of N7 training were held. Soon after completing the first tier of the program, the one what really weeded out most of the commitments, the Lieutenant had been bumped up in rank to a Lieutenant Commander rank. Much of his training involved utilizing his tech abilities in the heat of combat, and he had shown a proficiency in longer range shooting. John had chuckled as he first saw that one of his biotic squad mates was using an Arc Pistol to compensate for any shielding his powers weren't very efficient on. _I guess I was wrong, it does seem like it'd be perfect for an agile biotic. _He had thought.

Twenty six months of the most grueling physically and mentally strenuous conditioning of his life. Hell, at one point during the N5 training, he hadn't even realized his 26th birthday had passed, as the planets they had trained upon had vastly different orbital and rotational patterns than the standard human timescales. During the training, Shepard had demonstrated skills shown of a supervisor, always taking charge of a situation, directing the fellow trainees towards logical assignments best suited to their particular talents, and even encouraging team mates at the verge of mental breakdowns to continue pushing themselves. Even though he was of equal rank to his squad mates, most members of the Alliance special forces and upper brass knew about his survival on Akuze, which they still seemed to credit to a heroic feat of some sorts. It afforded him a level of respect among his peers, which constantly increased he used the opportunity to become an effective leader.

John Shepard was awarded the N7 ranking for his exemplary performance throughout the program, one of the younger humans to be awarded such a prestigious classification in its history. After careful considerations towards his skills, and the lack of biotic affinity reducing his classification choices by half, he was designated an N7 Shadow. Many N7 graduates continued on towards even more specialized training as they became humanity's finest warriors. Every classification had their own specialized class, such as soldiers and the N7 Destroyer. However with John, even considering his large physical build, he utilized positioning and finesse as more of his outlook in battle, unlike the overwhelming force of a soldier. His infiltrator training had taken another five months of specialized training in a field he had never expected. Although Shepard had trained extensively on pistols, sniper rifles, the standard assault rifle, and even a little bit into submachine guns and shotguns, he had never delved too deeply into melee weapons. The signature weapon of the Shadow was the long katana they wielded, though it was not simply a piece of metal. The sword was electrically charged, making it incredibly efficient at removing a shield in close quarters; unfortunately, it required a specialized omnitool to siphon energy from, making it inefficient for biotics who used a similar tactic to bolster their own powers. The weapon was not limited however to a simply being a electrically enhanced blade. A button easily accessible near the hilt allowed the energy in the blade to discharge away from the omnitool. It was very short range, weaker than a standard overload and definitely less powerful than the Arc Pistol, but could be very effective at disengaging an enemy for a quick return action.

Life has a way of completely changing on one in an incredibly short period of time, many time without any warning. Less than a week before he would be deployed to train with a new squad as their sniper support, an older individual of a darker skin complexion came to speak with him personally. The man had actually interrupted a video call with Daro'Xen, but thankfully hadn't made any remarks about him talking to a quarian; they quickly, though reluctantly, had said their farewells without the usual caring words in included as they weren't in private. Internally, Shepard had been quite displeased at the intrusion, as he had few opportunities since his introduction into the program for an actual video program. However, he was still a soldier, and showing respect towards your superiors was not up for debate. He straightened his back and saluted the man in the customary fashion, and interestingly the man chuckled, returning a salute before telling him to sit and relax. A few hours of conversation and a hand shake later, his orders were changed to deploy on the captain's stealth frigate, the position he was currently in. Incredibly, the Admiral, though he was called Captain more often aboard the ship, had promoted him to a Commander position to reflect his new status as an XO. It was incredibly quick he felt, but then again, most of the occurrences in his life had been at an accelerated rate.

Commander John Shepard quietly left the engineering section, nodding to Adams as he departed. Resisting the urge to call Daro, as she had stated earlier in the day she would be busy with her duties until further notice, he walked towards the elevator with no clear objective in mind. Free time was not something he was accustomed to, especially after the N7 training, and once again his mind wandered back to his quarian. He felt the _hij'zan still on his left wrist, the spot where it had rested since it was gifted to him, which was the only physical reminder he had of her. John had never expected the band to become a symbol of so much, but looking back at it, he felt like it was the beginning of their connection to one another, of more than just friends. ___I guess dad was right when he caught us in the living room...____I honestly wonder what he would think about us right now, being together. I know I love her, but it would have been easier to tell dad about it first; mom would have just asked for way too many details, and probably let the cat out of the bag long before I had the chance to tell her myself.___ John shook as head as he thought about his sister. She still had not a clue about his blossoming relationship with Daro, which was long past a mere friendship; he hadn't been alloted the time to visit her at medical school. ___I need to visit Tara when I get the chance.__

_The walk towards the elevator from engineering was short, but gave John enough time to return to his thoughts about a certain woman on the flotilla. Their lives had changed so much in the few years apart, but their feelings for one another seemingly continued to increase, much the opposite of what he had expected in a long distance relationship. _ _I still can't believe she's already the head researcher on that ship. I thought my life was changing quickly, she's only five years older than me and she's basically a few steps away from being the head of multiple research ships... The Arc projector must have been even more efficient than I had imagined when I left. _John chuckled as he remembered how excited she had been mid-way through his training when she had told him about the weapon. Apparently it had been finished a week prior, and the heads of the ship and planetary infantry combatants had highly approved of it's showing, the cost being the only thing from equipping every marine with one. _She spent almost a million credits buying supplies to mass produce those things, and it still wouldn't be a common weapon around the fleet's marines, only reserved for the proven and lucky few... I need to snag that final schematic at some point and see if I can fabricate my own. _ He again struggled to keep his mind off her as the unpleasantly slow elevator finally reached its destination. _Might as well kill some time with 'Joker' before we land. _

"The relay is hot, acquiring approach vector." Joker said barely loud enough for him to hear as he reached the navigational stations. "All stations secure for transit." Moments later. "The board is green . Approach run has begun." There was a short lull in the pilot's speaking, before he finalized. "Htting the relay in 3...2...1..." The sound of the ship hitting a mass relay filled his ears as the ship's internal inertia dampeners completely negated the incredible acceleration forces outside of the ship. Looking ahead, he saw the armored form of the newest arrival on the fleet, a turian Specter by the name of Nihlus. Shepard silently strode over, wondering what the group could be talking about.

"Thrusters... check. Navigation... check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift... under 1500 K." The pilot intoned, the biotic marine Kaidan nodding his head from the co-pilot's seat.

Nihlus spoke up, his baritone voice easily discernible from a human's. "1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." The turian turned and left the cockpit, giving Shepard a slight nod, which he returned, before continuing towards his next destination.

John arrived at the cockpit, but the pilot spoke up before he could comment. "I hate that guy."

Kaidan turned his head, the man's expression changing to a slight hint of confusion. "Nihlus gave you a compliment... so you hate him?"

Shepard had a feeling the pilot was rolling his eyes as put his hand on the man's seat, making his presence known. Joker wasted no time in responding, customary to his nickname. "You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!"

_Bosh'tet... _Shepard thought with an amused grin, though he didn't say anything aloud. He'd only been on board for a little over two weeks, and already people had been speculating just who he was communicating with on his omnitool, ducking and hiding the connection as soon as anyone would come near. The last thing he wanted to do was add fuel to the fire. _Nothing stays a secret aboard a ship for long. _He quickly took his thoughts away from his quarian yet again as Joker continued. "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him aboard. Call me paranoid."

Kaidan glanced his way, his facade again the customary neutral expression. "You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

Joker didn't seem to agree as he retorted. "Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believe the official story."

Kaidan didn't seem too pleased with the remark, but Shepard interjected first. "They don't send Specters on shakedown runs." The disgruntled marine shook his head before focusing on the boards in front of him.

Joker, however, was much less apt at keeping himself silent. "So, there's more going on here than the captain's letting on."

Before John could retort, the captain's voice entered the conversation. "Joker! Status report."

Although he was nicknamed for a reason, Joker seemed to be able to switch to a proper Alliance pilot when the need arose. "Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."

Captain Anderson hardly ever sounded like many of the upper brass members John had met, many of those who would often speak in a very abrasive tone or constantly demand respectful pronouns before and after their main statement. Anderson was a large part of the reason he was excited to be aboard the ship, though the thought of exploration while doing missions instead of being stationed planet side was also pleasant. He never had done well with those kind of superiors. "Good. Find a com buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."

Shepard rescinded his previous thought as Joker casually retorted. "Aye, aye Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way."

The captain's voice came out more stern, but far less than John would have expected from others. "He's already here, Lieutenant." Joker's hands froze on the holo-terminal, his eyes likely widened. The captain was thankfully a very lenient man, and continued in his normal tone... though something sounded off about it. "Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." The communication channel cut out before the pilot had any more witty remarks.

"You get that, Commander?" Joker questioned again back to his nonchalant self.

"He seems angry." Shepard mused aloud. "Something must have gone wrong with the mission." _What could have happened to the colony, it's an agrarian world with a very spread out population, not a metropolitan center like Mindoir. Slavers would have to be pretty desperate to hit it, especially since it's one of the more protected colonies._

As Shepard walked away, the parting comment from the pilot reached his ears. "Pfft. Captain always sound like that when he's talking to me."

He rolled his eyes, but then chuckled as he barely heard Kaidan's wise ass remark. "I can't possibly imagine why."

Shepard made his way down towards the CIC at a casual pace, and noticed that Navigator Pressly gave him a respectful nod. _I'll have to chat with him later, might as well get to know the whole crew, not just the engineering section. Unless Daro's free after this meeting, then he'll have to wait. _The crew originally gave him strange looks at first, being a 6'5" human with a rather large katana at your side apparently was not a common sight. However, by now he was simply another crew member.

John smiled lightly as he walked past the man, returning the nod. He noticed the ship's resident medical practitioner, an older woman by the name of Dr. Chakwas, standing by a man he had seen before, but had no idea who he was. The man, or should he say boy spoke rather loudly as Shepard strolled by. "I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It's not the kind of place Spectres visit. There's something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission."

_I guess more of the crew than just Joker think that the Spectre, or even Anderson, are hiding something. Maybe I can pry some of the information out of him. _He walked past them, hearing the woman, Dr. Chakwas he recalled from the preliminary physical inspection, reply. "That's crazy. The captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre." _Damn right he wouldn't._

When he entered the communication room, he was surprised to only see the turian in question, Spectre Nihlus, leaned against the large terminal and gazing intently at picture of Eden Prime with a strange structure on it. The alien must have heard his footsteps, turning around and taking a few steps away from the terminal. His baritone voice spoke. "Ah, Commander Shepard. I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk."

_Doesn't sound like it'll be a friendly chat..._John decided to be cordial, however. "What about?"

The turian began slowly pacing as he continued musing. "I'm interested in this world we're going to – Eden Prime. I've heard it's quite beautiful."

_I've heard it's beautiful as well to be honest. That's why it was named with 'Eden' in the name, the old religious garden of paradise. _He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I've never been there."

Nihlus nodded, contemplating for a moment before retorting. "But you know of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how how safe is it, really?"

Shepard was surprised, and he unwillingly let it show on his face. However, the turian seemed uninterested in his reaction, turning to stare at the screen once more. With a hint of defensiveness over his species, he questioned. "Do you know something?"

The Spectre responded, his tone never changing throughout the conversation. "Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place." Another pause occurred before the alien continued. "Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

_Is he trying to threaten us? _Before the commander could interject his opinion, the more familiar voice of the captain broke into the conversation. "I think it's about time we told the commander what's really going on."

Nihlus added from behind him. "This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run."

John rolled his eyes internally, though his facial expression didn't reflect his emotions. "I already figured that out."

Anderson spoke, gaining his attention. "We're making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth systems operational."

_I guess he still doesn't trust me enough for that kind of information... which really doesn't seem like his character though... _Instead of worrying about the past though, he respectfully questioned. "What's the payload, Captain?"

Anderson quickly replied. "A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean." The normally stoic though friendly captain paced uneasily as he finished.

_Prothean? How the hell would something 50,000 years survive and still be usable. Well, Eden Prime is a garden world, probably less seismic activity than most planets. Does that mean they used to inhabit it? _He kept his wandering mind in check yet again. "What else can you tell me, sir?"

Anderson seemed to become more animated, his expression still showing slight signs of worry. "This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study."

_Holy shit, this is big. Though it seems the Cou- _Spectre Nihlus interjected before Shepard had time to process the information fully. "Obviously, this goes past beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space."

"Why didn't we keep the beacon to ourselves?" John asked Anderson. _It_ d_oesn't seem right to just give away such an important find. Information is the currency of the galaxy, and I guarantee there's plenty the council races have kept hidden, even from each other._

The alien responded, however. "You humans don't have the best reputation. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous."

_No shit... and yet the Council's history is full of foolish decisions. _Anderson chipped in. "Sharing that beacon will improve relations with the Council. Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do."

Shepard's omnitool beeped lowly, a specific sound which signaled Daro's ability to chat. _Perfect timing, it seems like we're done here. _He nodded to Nihlus who seemed unfazed by the noise and turned to John. The Spectre, unfortunately, had other plans and commented. "The beacon's not the only reason I'm here, Shepard."

Anderson continued. "Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you."

_Wait, what? _John answered nonchalantly, though his mind was racing. "Guess that explains why I bump into him every time I turn around."

His captain explained. "The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

_Me? A Spectre? _The turian Spectre added. "Not many could have survived what you went through on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live – a particularly useful talent. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres. Spectres need to know how to use their brains as well as their weapons."

_Wait... Nihlus recommended me for the program? _He allowed his confusion to show in his tone."Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?"

The alien Spectre did not seem perturbed by his question. "Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy... and to the Spectres."

Captain Anderson spoke after the turian. "Nihlus will be accompanying you-"

Joker's voice quickly cut through the room. "Captain! We've got a problem."

"What's wrong Joker?" The captain replied.

"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You'd better see this." Joker said rapidly, devoid of his normal humorous tone.

"Bring it up on screen." Anderson ordered.

What was on the screen made everyone in the room quiet, and extremely nervous. An Alliance patrol on the planet was being annihilated by an unknown enemy, the weapon's fire sounding like nothing that had John had ever heard. The marines on the planet all stood gaping in awe before the video panned towards a giant claw-like ship descending towards the planet, then the video was reduced to static.

"Everything cuts out after that. No comms traffic at all. Just goes dead. There's nothing." Joker stated over the comms after the video had completed. "We're an hour out from Eden Prime Captain, going in fast and quiet."

John took an initiative, accessing the video terminal and rewinding it towards the oddly shaped dreadnought and pausing. The trio stared at the picture in silence. Out of the corner of Shepard's eye, he saw the Spectres mandibles twitch in what he assumed was nervousness. He quickly saved a copy of the video to his omnitool, an action that perhaps would have gotten him court-martialed by most captains, but even if Anderson found out, he felt safe from such punishments. _I need to learn about whatever the hell that thing is._

A few moments passed, Anderson finally breaking the silence ominously. "This mission just got a lot more complicated. Both of you, grab your gear and meet me in the cargo hold in half an hour."

Nihlus seemed to snap out of his stupor with the screen and concluded. "A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It's our best chance to secure the beacon. I'll go make some preparations." The turian walked away from the large monitor as it shut down, as did Anderson.

_Well, there's a little bit of time to talk to Daro at least. _He double checked to make sure the two had departed, before hailing his favorite quarian for a live video call, as the flotilla was close to a galactic comm buoy hub. It only took around ten seconds before he was greeted by the Moreh's head researcher and his exotic girlfriend, Daro'Xen.

"It's good to see you hun." John said with a smile as he sat on one of the comm room's surprisingly comfy chairs. He tried to keep the images he had just seen out of mind, but it was difficult.

"And you as well nehya." She said with a smile in her voice, but her head tilted slightly after a moment. "Are you alright John?"

_I know I can trust her to keep this a secret. _"No, I'm really not." He said earnestly, seeing his lover's eyes widen at the honesty. "I'll show you what's bothering me, but you need to keep it a secret, even from your captain."

"Of course John. Let me add some additional encryption to the channel first." The quarian replied quickly, her eyes focusing off the screen on to her omnitool for a while. After about twenty seconds, she continued. "Alright, it should be safe even from another aboard the vessel if you're ready."

John nodded, attaching a copy of the Eden Prime file before again nervously looking around the room. XO or not, sending such information to a member of another species, regardless of relationship, seemed like an easy way to get court-marshaled. He watched her mask after the video sent, and her wondrously luminescent eyes quickly widened. He waited patiently for her to finish watching the video, though she was the one to comment.

"Keelah John, those sounds, that has to be the geth." Daro said nervously.

_How the hell did the geth find out about the prothean beacon? _Although it pained him internally to do so, he didn't reveal the prothean discovery to his lover, mostly for her safety he told himself. "Do you have any idea why they would be on a human colony?" She had told him much about the geth in their friendship, from their structural designs to their networked intelligence, and everything she had elaborated upon had him conclude on one thing. They would be one hell of an adversary.

She shook her head sadly. "I do not have any idea, I'm sorry." She paused for a moment before adding in a worried tone. "You need to be careful John, they are extremely intelligent, and incredibly dangerous. We have very few samples of their weapons technology since the exodus, but I can imagine they have progressed substantially."

Shepard smiled ever so slightly at her obvious concern. "I know Daro, don't worry. It'd be a perfect opportunity to get some combat mission testing on the Arc Pistol." He added carefully. "Do you think the fleet would be against sending me a schematic of your Arc Projector? I can promise that it would only remain in my possession." _There's no need to mention of why, she'll get even more worried if she knew I was traveling with a Spectre... as a Spectre candidate. _"If there's geth in human space, that weapon might be incredibly effective. Plus, I could send back some footage and performance data."

"I'll see what I can do. You were helpful in the designs your short time here, but most of the flotilla is still distrustful of outsiders." Miss Xen replied earnestly, though she added with a chuckle. "Though once they find out geth have attacked human space, I can see many of our military leaders jumping at the opportunity for an alliance against them."

"Just don't tell them you got it from me, alright?" He replied, absolutely serious but attempting to put a humorous tone into it.

"I know John, and I realize the risk you took in sending me the information. Rest assured, I can easily convince the captain I had your an information tracker you had allowed on your omnitool, and he would understand why." Daro replied in a similar tone.

"I hope you're right Daro. I'm not entirely sure what the geth have been doing for three hundred years, but I can assume building their military was a priority." Shepard said after a sigh, continuing in a somber tone. "I hate to cut this short, but the captain will probably be expecting fully geared up rather soon."

"I understand John." She said in a slightly deflated tone, but her eyes showed her hidden smile as she more humorously added. "Still, you had better kill a lot of geth for me nehya."

_Killing geth with the pistol we both designed, heck of a way to show your love. _"I know dear, I'll make sure the first kill is in your name." The commander added jocularly.

"Keelah se'lai John'Shepard vas Normandy." Daro finished with a tilt of her head, a more easily discernible form of a smile.

**Note to readers: Unless a word is specifically stated to be my own, in which a definition will be provided at the bottom, any terms used that you may not recognize come from the well-known stories by "Calinstel" which I am using as a basis for much of my quarian profiles. I'd highly recommend you read the story if you're a Tali-fan, but if not here's the link to the glossary page on his/her story :) [ s/6065449/109/To-Survive-Alliances]! **


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